With Your Soul
by hop-skip-n.a.-jump
Summary: What happens when the one person who never gave up on you and was your only source of light is beginning to move on? What will become of you when you have no one?
1. Chapter 1

**With Your Soul**

Disclaimer: I don't own Soul Eater ya ya ya...but you already knew that didn't you?

Fair warning, I know that Crona is mostly referred to as a male in the anime. The manga hints at being a female. I know he/she is Gender ambiguous. I see her as a girl and so I will write with that idea in mind. If that doesn't bother your perception of the character then enjoy :)

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_Its been an adjustment. My whole life and the idea of who I thought I was supposed to be was completely turned on its head._

_Crona._

_I mean, even my name translates to literally meaning 'dark one'. How was I suppose to know anything different than violence and turmoil in my world?_

_A mother, who was the only friend, family, and guidance I had known my whole life was nothing but a monster. A monster trying to turn me into a darker monster. She tried to make me into a __**demon. **__Maybe she was like a normal mother in that aspect, always pushing their kids to become something greater or find their place in life. I know that she used me. I know she never truly loved me as she should have. I know that now, thanks to Maka._

_Its all behind me now. _

_I still remember all the terrible things I did. All the destruction and death I've been the cause of. I think about it a lot. Kid scolds me and tells me that's counterproductive. My whole life seems counterproductive. I know my mother was the one who led me down the path of being a kishin, but at some point I wonder...did I start to like it?_

_Ragnarok__ defiantly did, he loved the sense of strength he grew with every soul we devoured, whether it was that of an innocent or not. He loved the power, my mother was somewhat proud of the power, but where did I fall?_

_Do I know the difference between right and wrong? Am I where I'm meant to be?_

_Am I meant to be anywhere at all?_

Crona's light pink hair softly rustled in the calm breeze. It was a fair day in Death City. One of the most eventful ones. It was several years later and her friends Maka and Soul had become engaged, to several peoples surprise. All of their friends, fellow students from the academy, and their families were delighted to hear the news. Soul had found much more than just his partner in life.

Everyone was to be invited and the wedding was scheduled for tomorrow, which was suppose to be even more beautiful than today. Crona sat outside alone on the balcony outside of the apartment she shared with Soul and Maka. It took quite a while to regain everyone's trust after falling back into Medusa's schemes. Black Star still didn't trust her 100% and he was very vocal about letting everyone know that.

She had achieved a level of trust where she wasn't held in the lower dungeon like rooms of the academy. After much persuading and pleading from Maka, she had convinced Soul to let Crona move in. It was such a surprise to Crona, that she had burst into tears when she had seen her new room. The tears made Soul more weary on his choice of the new roommate. She had never had a room so nice. It wasn't a large or glamorous room, there was a twin bed with a purple comforter, a desk, and a sliding door closet. Crona's favorite part of the room was not the decor, but the large window and glass door that led to a personal balcony.

The room with Medusa had a very small window and the punishment room, where Crona spent most of her childhood had no window at all and was completely dark. The room at DWMA was small and jail cell like with metal bars blocking out part of any kind of view she could hope for.

But here, these windows were spectacular. Crona could open, shut, or lock them whenever she pleased. This amount of freedom was profound. She could not be locked away in the dark anymore. During the day she loved having the windows open so the sky was always in view, no matter if the weather was bad or good. The breeze could filter in and the smell of the city and the dull sound of city life could be hear whenever she wanted,

Night time was slightly different. Night time was when she preferred to close and lock the windows. Nighttime is when she lay in bed staring in fear that in the window a snake or a silhouette would appear in front of the moon and Cronas new life would be destroyed.

After the third time of Crona sneaking into Makas room during the night, they had bought her heavy drapes to cover the windows.

Crona's eyes slowly scanned the town below her. She liked watching everyone rush to get to wherever they were going. Resting her chin in her hand, she closed her eyes and exhaled. It was rare to find moments like this. Ragnarok had become less over bearing but would still lash out whenever he wanted. While she did not care to carry on studies, her friends were normally busy with school. Crona had much less classes scheduled due to the fact that she is part weapon herself and didn't need much of those classes instruction.

Maka and Soul had finally achieved becoming a Death Scythe after 99 souls and a witch. Soul would occasionally work for Lord Death, but preferred to stay with his meister. Black Star was jealous, but still attended their celebration party in good spirits.

That was the night he proposed. It wasn't "the cool thing" to do, but he didn't care. He loved her and that was all that mattered. It would be decided that Black Star was the best man ans Tsubaki was the maid of honor.

Crona was excited for the upcoming celebration, but also confused. A wedding wasn't something she was familiar with. She was very happy for her friends and would do whatever she could to make their special day enjoyable.

**"Hey" **a taunting voice said to her as she felt her black blood flow near her spine.

"I was beginning to think you weren't going to talk to me today" Crona responded, attempting to joke.

"**What? Are you dumb? I sleep through most of the boring stuff you do. But your whole life is boring now" **Ragnarok shot back. Crona shifted her eyes and furrowed her brow.

"Its not boring, we have a good life here now"

"**Yeah yeah, you're the weakest I've ever seen you. We never get to do anything anymore" **he argued, stretching his small back and arms **"But I'm hungry now so get your scrawny ass up and make us some lunch".**

Crona groaned and headed for the kitchen. She hadn't eaten yet today, but food wasn't nearly as big a deal for her as it was for Ragnarok. After years of him stealing her meals, her body had adjusted to not eating so much. After moving in, she had gain a small amount of weight but still maintained a skinny frame. After much pleading from Patty and Liz, Crona did attempt to shop for new clothes with them. Normally she would shy away from such an interaction, but Maka insisted it would be a good lesson in bonding.

Patty overwhelmed her with clothes to try on and even offered to buy, but after the 15th dress Crona was begging to come home. They settled for one new outfit. Which looked almost exactly like her normal clothes. Black boots and a long sleeved black dress. The only difference was that it was slightly shorter than the one she was familiar with and it was more loose at the bottom which allowed it to lightly flow and sway. It took getting used to, but Patty counted it as a victory.

Crona entered the kitchen and opened that fridge to grab some eggs to cook. The cool air and buzzing coolant sound greeted her as she searched for two eggs in the refrigerator. She plucked them from their cartons and lightly shut the door. She grabbed a pan down with her free hand and then sat the eggs to the side as she turned the burner on. The blue flame danced beautifully, jumping and quietly cracking before she set the pan over it.

After she finished frying and scrambling, Ragnarok was practically ravenous and began shoveling food into his mouth as soon as Crona set the plate on the table.

**"You know, you could really work on your cooking too..."** he spat out between bites.

"You're eating it aren't you?" Crona retorted dryly. She wasn't hungry and she knew two eggs would not be nearly enough to fill Ragnarok's bottomless pit of a stomach. She sat at the table as her _partner_ of sorts stuffed his face.

**"Whats with you today?" **Ragnarok asked **"You have that stupid thinking look on your face, are ya still jealous about the wedding?"**

Crona's face lit up bright red as she glared at him.

"I'm _not __jealous" _she stated strongly. Truthfully, she wasn't jealous. She wasn't sure how she felt. She did not feel romantic toward Maka, they were just close friends. Well, as close as Crona could be with another person. She was just nervous about the next step. Once they were married, would they get their own house? Where would she go? She couldn't intrude on them forever, even if Maka invited her. Crona had not been nervous about the wedding until Liz brought it up while shopping.

_"You know we have to come back out shopping, you're going to need a dress to wear at the wedding" Liz informed Crona on the way home from the boutique shops._

_"Yeah! Ooohh we could get you one that is pink like your hair!" Patty giggled._

_"I could just wear this-" Crona tried._

_"No way, this is a we__dding. It's her most important day" Liz said. All three were silent for a minute. They walked past a park busy with children swinging and playing as their parents looked on._

_"Not to be rude Crona, but what do you plan to do after the wedding?" Liz asked quietly._

_"Well Tsubaki told me there's a reception and there will be dancing an-"_

_"No, I mean _after _the wedding. Like once Soul and Maka are man and wife and stuff. You can't live with them forever, what happens when they want to have kids?" Liz clarified as they continued on._

_Cronas face whitened slightly. She had not considered that. She had not thought of what would happen if Soul and Maka wanted to move on. Certainly they wouldn't want to take care of her forever._

_"I could always help...around the-"_

_"Do you really think you'll be good with kids? You don't want Maka to be your babysitter forever do you?" Liz asked raising her eyebrow. _

_Why all this focus on kids all of a sudden? Maka seemed perfectly happy with her life right now..._

Even though the conversation was over a week ago, Crona couldn't shake those thoughts out of her head. It was constant noise. From those thoughts, several others stemmed off into their own twisted versions.

Did Maka pity her?

Feel like she has to take her in?

Where _will _she go once they move on?

Once they become a family, will they be so quick to drop her?

Ragnarok had finished his lunch moments ago and was back to pestering Crona. The hair pulling, name calling, and taunting faded in to background noise as she ignored him. She was lost in her thoughts. Lost in everything else too.

**"What are you gunna cry now?" **he taunted **"At least you'll always have ME"**

Crona stared into a space on the table, unable to shift her eyes anywhere else for fear that tears would form and fall. She sadly thought to herself:

_'I will have no one else'_


	2. Chapter 2

First chapter was kinda slow, but I'm just warming you up! Each chapter will hopefully be something worth while to read. Reviews are welcome as always (I need to know if this story is worth anything to continue.)

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**Chapter 2**

"Hey Crona, we're home!" Maka announced as the sound of the door opening broke Crona out of her trance like thoughts.

Maka and Soul both had arms full of grocery bags which they were trying to unload onto the table and counters.

"We decided to do some shopping on the way home from class" Soul stated cooly. Ragnarok lunged at the produce in attempt to snag some food.

**"Good thing you guys showed up, Crona almost killed me with this trash she tries to pass of as food. Now someone unload those bags and whip up a real lunch!" **He shouted. Crona shifted her gaze, Maka notice a look of unease on her face.

"You okay Crona? How was your day?" Maka asked nicely as she took a gallon of milk from the bag to add to the fridge.

"Oh...uh...good" Crona fumbled. It wasn't a lie. As far as days go, it definatly wasn't a bad one. Soul raised an eyebrow.

Sensing that Crona was uncomfortable, Maka knew not to pry for now and left it at that.

"Well good" Maka chirped, handing a loaf of bread to Soul to put away. The kitchen sat in a silence for a moment. Ragnorak looked around and saw noone was jumping to make him a new meal and grew bored, he huffed and merged back into Cronas back.

Crona was thankful that was not as relentless as usual today. Soul and Maka finished putting away everything and Soul went to the living room to watch TV.

"How was class?" Crona asked, trying to make small talk.

"Oh, same as usual. We're attempting to learn more Death Scythe techniques to make Soul as strong as possible for when Lord Death needs him for serious stuff" Maka explained. She popped some bread in the toaster then slid out a chair out to sit at the table with Crona.

"Its actually less stressful than trying to plan the wedding" Maka admitted sheepishly.

Crona gave a confused look, shouldn't a wedding be a happy event to plan?

"Stressful?" Crona inquired. Maka nodded.

"I love Soul and I can't wait for that day, but training and studying comes much more natural than trying to throw a perfect wedding ceremony and reception you know?" She explained.

"I've never seen a wedding before..." Crona said quietly. Makas expression dropped slightly.

"I'm sorry if you felt left out of not being in the wedding" Maka said. The toaster popped out its freshly cooked toast which made Maka rise to her feet to retrieve it. The smell gentle drifted to Cronas nostrils, making her stomache crave something to eat. Hopefully the smell wouldnt attract Ragnarok to come back out.

Crona shook her head in protest. She didn't know the first thing about weddings so it was completely understandable why Maka would have her sit by a nearby table instead. Maka was aware Crona wouldnt know how to deal with being up in front of everyone.

"No no, You don't need to feel bad-" Crona assured before she was cut off.

"Hey Maka, when you two hens are done clucking about feelings and stuff how about you bring me out something to drink?" Soul shouted from the living room half jokingly. Crona saw a smile creep across Makas face as she set her plate down on the table and scurried into the living room.

"Oh I'm _sorry_, are your legs suddenly broken?" Crona heard her ask jokingly. Then squeals of laughter and giggling errupted. Crona leaned over a bit to see Soul in the midst of tickling and play wrestling Maka. Sounds of Maka kicking and pleading Soul to stop tickling drifted back into the kitchen where Crona sat alone.

After several moments too long, Crona realized she had been staring and snapped back into a normal seated position. She didnt have long to think about her loneiness when she felt her counterpart merge from her upper back.

"**Hey, don't mind if I do!" **said Ragnarok before he helped himself to the unprotected toast left by Maka. Crona quietly protested and tried to hold him back but there was no stopping him.

Crona listened as the sounds of playful banter would subside into low whispering and what sounded like soft kissing in between sentences. Maka would never even notice her small snack was missing and how could she?

She was distracted by love and had more happiness in the last five minutes than Crona had ever seen anyone else have in their lives. Crona wished she could know that happiness.

_I wouldn't know how to handle that anyway. Apparently it was normal for girls, even from a young age to want to find a 'Prince Charming' of their own. I never had the luxury of wishing like that. To me, my world was understood to become a kishin at the advisement of my mother. I was an indestructible weapon, nothing more. Even now, certain days when I stand on my balcony above the city, I see couples walk hand in hand with their love and I can't wrap my mind around it._

_Why would anyone want to hold hands together for so long? Isn't that uncomfortable...?_

Crona doubted that she would even want to cling to someone like that. Much less that someone else would want her in that way. Crona suddenly noticed she had been leaned over the table, staring into the other room toward her friends. She quickly snapped back up to a seated position, feeling her face flush. After a moment of realizing that Maka was not immediately coming back to the kitchen, Crona quickly stood up and scurried out toward her bedroom.

**"What the hell, Crona!" **Ragnarok protested as he was torn from his meal.

Even if no one had seen her stare, she felt embarrassed of her curiosity and thoughts. Especially with her weapon announcing that they were exiting so abruptly. Once they reached her room, he put two and two together.

**"When are you going to get over your jealousy thing?" **He asked, annoyed. Crona wished him to return back into her as she ripped her curtains closed to block out what was left of the late afternoon sun. Her curtains were so thick that they blocked out any sunlight that attempted to enter the room. For some reason, even though her mother had repeatedly locked her in pitch black rooms as a child, Crona almost felt a sense of comfort in them now. Once she got over the initial shock, it was almost like she was home again. Her warped sense of what home was. The darkness would have a calming and sometimes maddening effect.

"I'm not jealous, I just-"

She then accidentally knocked over a cup of pencils that was set on the desk by the window, which added more to her frustration. She didn't want Maka to realize she had left because then she would come looking to see what was wrong. She scrambled to pick them up from the table and floor in the near complete darkness.

**"I think you are. I KNOW you are. You want something for yourself, huh?" **Ragnarok taunted. Crona stood up and walked to her bed. She didn't want to talk but she was becoming more and more upset. She sat down on the small comforter and swung her long legs up in front of her as he back rested against the wall.

"I don't want to be alone again" She admitted softly, hoping he would show some remorse and leave her alone if she gave an answer. That was not the case, as usual.

**"Well, you better get used to it. People can't babysit you forever. You're so messed up you're lucky you'll always have me!" **He said as he began tapping his knuckles roughly on her head.

"I don't want you. You make everything worse!" Crona exclaimed, grabbing a pillow and shoving her face into it. Ragnarok wasn't entirely used to Crona shooting insults back and took offense.

**"You would be DEAD without me, who do you think hardens your blood when were on the verge of being killed? You can't fight, you can't stand up for yourself, hell you can hardly even TALK" **He said viciously, raising his voice. Crona held her face into the pillow so he would not get the satisfaction of seeing her expression.

**"Maybe it would be better that way, you being gone and all. I'm with you all the time and I can barely handle it. I would be you that Maka is counting down the days until she can ditch you and actually enjoy a life. Your own mother even knew how pathetic you are! Ya know what, I can just turn into the sword now and we can get this over with. But I bet you can't even do that right" **He spat. Crona felt numb, these were not new thoughts to her, but it was different to hear someone else confirm them out loud. Especially someone who was suppose to be the other half of you. She began to curl into a tighter ball as the clutched her pillow to prevent tears from forming.

**"You'd better get off your high horse and not get to comfortable with the idea that you will ever have more than me, because the truth is that you're stuck with me until the day you die" **Ragnarok spat as he quickly changed form and retreated into Cronas back after his furious rant.

The room became eerily quiet now and completely dark except for the faint light of what was left of the sun coming through a sliver of exposed window. The light created a beam going across the foot of her bed. She sat in the pitch black for what seemed like eternity. She slowly began to hear the muffled talking of her friends from the other room who had not yet noticed that she had left.

She was thankful for these few moments where she could just let go and cry without someone telling her it would be okay. She loved Maka for her optimistic spirit, but she didn't want to be judged for breaking down constantly.

She heard her name mentioned in the low chatter and began to hear footsteps approach her door and quickly tried to dry her face with blankets and her sleeve. There was a light knock and the door as it was push open and Maka peered around.

"Hey Crona, you okay? You kinda disappeared and I hardly got to talk to you..." Maka said softly, resting her hand on the side of the door.

"Uh- yeah I'm fine" She said, clearing her throat to try to sound more convincing "I just don't feel very good". Which wasn't a complete lie.

"Well, do you need anything?" Maka asked, sensing that wasn't all that was wrong.

"No. I just want to lay down" She said, pulling her blankets in a cocoon around her, being sure to keep herself facing the wall instead of Maka.

"Alright then, let me know if you want to talk" Maka said as she began pulling the door shut slowly to see if Crona would change her answer.

"Okay" Crona said curtly. Maka frowned slightly and looked at the ground as she shut the door, leaving Crona in the dark. She waited until Makas footsteps faded then relaxed her grip on the comforter.

_'I can't rely on Maka forever. She can't always carry the weight of my emotional problems.'_ Crona thought. She had never become better friends with anyone else in the group and felt slightly outcasted even when she was included. She dried her eyes. She would mend this issue on her own for the first time in her life. It couldn't be that difficult to become better friends with people she already knew.

She could laugh with them and fight along side them. She certainly didn't want to become the burden of another one of her friends though. Once her face appeared less obvious that she had been crying, she eventually emerged from her room, opening the curtains in the room for the light to be allowed back in. Even if she was sad, she didn't want to stay in her dark room forever. Even her mother would eventually let her out.

She walked out into the living room to see Soul with a selection of movies to watch, Maka entered from the kitchen with a bowl of popcorn, happy to see that Crona had emerged from her room. Soul asked Crona to pick a movie, which she nervously did. She hated making decisions that would impact them, even in the smallest way. Crona felt as if she were on autopilot in her mind. She quickly picked whatever movie was in the middle, which wound up being some romantic comedy to Makas delight.

For the next two hours as the sun sank outside, they watched a generic movie where the boy realizes he loves his best friend and goes on a cooky adventure to prove that he is the right one for her. Soul and Maka sat on the couch as Crona took a spot on the floor in front of them. Maka would laugh at the similarities between the onscreen couple and her and Soul. He would agree here and there, while popping popcorn in his mouth and then throwing some at Maka.

Normally Crona didn't understand the movies. The plots were confusing or not likely to happen in real life. But after only several minutes of watching, she became entranced with the movie and found herself slightly rooting for the boy to wind up with the girl.

"Geez Crona, I don't think I've ever seen you get so into a movie" Soul noted as the credits rolled at the end. Crona blushed, she didn't say anything. She still didn't know how to respond to Soul sometimes.

"It was a good movie" Maka agreed, cleaning up the few popcorn kernels scattered around the room that Soul had tossed at her. "I have to go study for the test tomorrow then probably get some sleep" She said as she pecked Soul on the cheek and headed to her room. Soul followed her, agreeing that he was tired to but wasn't about to study because thats not cool.

As the two put the popcorn away and began locking up the door, Crona took the opportunity to discreetly swipe the DVD and excuse herself to her room. She hid the movie under her mattress until she heard her friends go to sleep. Once she saw the lights turn out in their room, she took out the plastic case and studied the couple on its cover. They looked so happy.

She inserted the movie into the computer in her room. Maka had given Crona her old room and was trying to teach her how to use the computer and phone. Crona was still confused, but she had learned enough to know that the menu will pop up when you insert a movie.

For the rest of the night, she watched the movie over and over until she passed out in the early hours of the morning.

It had been the first time she forgot to close her curtains to hid from the moon.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3 (Sorry this took forever if anyone is reading this)**

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The sun didn't have a chance to peak through the curtains until Crona opened them to allow it. She awoke to the sound of the main menu of her DVD playing on repeat, which made it surprising that Ragnarok didn't wake up to complain about it. She gently pulled the thick curtains open, releasing the sunlight into the room. It looked like it might be a dreary day.

She slowly sat up and looked at her clock that read 8:27am. She stretched slightly then swung her feet to the side of the bed to get up. Her slender frame made its way to her dresser to change into clothes for the day. The dresser was filled with new clothes that Crona had no hand in picking out. They were gifts. Almost every thing Crona now had was a gift.

At first Crona hated the new clothes Maka, Tsubaki, and the sisters had gotten for her. Shorts, skirts, and tank tops felt too revealing. Even if no one else saw her in them, she felt exposed. She slowly adjusted to wearing certain clothes, but would never leave her room without something longer or the occasional robe that Maka had given her. But even that felt out of place, Medusa would have thought that was a lazy clothing choice.

When she first moved in, she had to readjust her whole life style. Maka felt bad that she only had two sets of clothes; her dress and her party clothes, and she did not like seeing Crona sleep in the same clothes or being in the long black dress on a hot day, so the first thing was a full wardrobe. Shortly after that, Maka and Soul became open about their relationship and movie into the same room together, which freed up Maka's old room to give to Crona.

After living with Medusa, sleeping in a dreary dungeon, and then their couch, Crona completely broke down when Maka showed her the new room that they had repainted and filled with new furniture.

She was still uncomfortable in many of the outfits. So again, it was a similar black dress with less length. She grabbed her clothes in her arms and quietly opened the door, checking to see if anyone was awake. Crona hated being the last one up, but she also hated people seeing her in pajamas. Hearing no voices or motion in the house, she crept toward the bathroom to shower and clean up.

She set her clothes on the edge of the sink as she brushed her teeth and turned the shower on. Once she had access to it, hygiene was probably her favorite thing about moving in with her friends. She could shower when she wanted and at whatever temperature. Her first weeks living there, Maka had to assure Crona that she could shower whenever she wanted. She was no longer on Medusas demented schedule of when Crona deserved a shower or the DWMA's terrifying underground bathhouse.

Crona loved to be the first to shower because that meant she got all the hot water. When she cleaned herself, she turned the water as hot as she can take it. The extreme heat made it almost feel like a punishment to Ragnarok and it helped her feel somewhat clean. The luxuries of shampoos, conditioners, and scented soaps also took some getting used to.

She was working over her fear of using too much scents because people began to notice. She didn't smell unpleasant before but several days before at the Academy, Ox had casually complimented her on her hair smelling nice which made her face light up and sent her out of the classroom.

Her favorite smell, if she had to pick, was vanilla.

After her shower, she stepped out of the tub and wrapped a towel around herself then tried to wipe the fog covered mirror. Seeing a small window of her relection was all she needed to brush her short hair that flipped droplets of water all around with each stroke. She dried off quickly and opened the small bathroom window to let some of the steam air.

Once her skin was dry enough, she removed her towel and changed into her dress.

After her hair gave its last few deposits of moisture on her shoulder as it dried, she made her way down the hallway. She heard the phone in the living room begin to ring but she didn't rush for it. Crona hated answering the phone and the calls were never for her anyway. After several rings, it beeped and then went to message.

_'Hey Maka, it's Tsubaki. Just wondering what time we were all getting together to do fittings. I will try you again later, bye!'_

Crona stared at the plastic machine. Today is fitting day. Which means she was getting dragged along and she still had yet to find something to wear. She had her normal white suit that she liked but it was Maka's day. Crona had not heard anything about 'bridesmaids' or anything but after hearing Liz and Patty talk about it, she wasn't sure she wanted to be one.

_'Maybe I can slip out before they have a chance to invite me' _Crona thought. _She shook her head. 'No, that would be mean after all she's done for me'_

**"Holy shit, just go find Pigtails before I starve to death" **Ragnorak said, popping back to his perch on her shoulder.

"I'm not going to bug her, she's probably at the Academy taking her test anyway" Crona argued.

**"Ughhhh"** Ragnorak groaned, slumping over. The apartment was dead silent with her friends not there to fill it with noise. Soul would have music or Maka would have all the windows open to welcome the breeze. Crona walked back to the living room and sat on the sofa to peer out the window to look at the people below. The street was slower with it being earlier in the morning on a weekday and with the weather looking dangerously close to rain.

The only people out on the street was a man with his bread cart searching for customers and two elderly women on a stroll. The towns people were either at class, work, or home waiting to see if it would down pour later in the day.

The front door to the apartment opened causing Crona to quickly bring her gaze to meet who it was. She almost immediately regretted looking so fast.

Soul walked in shirtless in a longer pair of shorts and tennis shoes from his morning run. Crona quickly snapped her eyes back to the window, hoping he didn't notice.

"Hey, you're up" Soul noted, pulling ear buds from his ears which continued to play the music he had at high volume.

Crona nodded, not turning around to see if he had accepted that as an answer. She heard his footsteps come closer which made her pull her feet up to her chest on the couch which also heightened the redness in her face.

She wasn't scared of Soul, but she was nervous that if Maka wasn't there as a sort of 'shield' that Soul may not be as gracious.

"Well good to see you're ready 'cause after I shower, we're heading out"

Shock struck Cronas face "...Where?" she chocked out.

Soul opened the fridge to grab a cold water bottle and snapped it open.

"We got the fitting thing, were gunna meet Maka and the others there" he said as he took large drinks of water.

Cronas anxiety slightly subsided once she heard Maka would join. The one thing that Crona did notice about Soul is that he never gave her options in the way that Maka did. The was no 'do you want this or that?'. Soul would just tell Crona what or how something was and that was it.

"...O-Ok" Crona said. Soul downed his water then swiftly exited to shower, before he turned down the hall she noticed much of the sweat on his body which made her blush all over again. Blair remained in cat form as she lept on the couch and nudged Crona, signalling she saw her embarrassment. Crona sat in silence and focused back on the sky and anything else until Soul emerged shortly from his brief shower 10 minutes later.

"Alright, lets get to it" He said, grabbing his messenger bag back off a kitchen chair and waving Crona over. Crona stood up and noticed Blairs look of disappointment of seeing Souls shirt back on. She followed him over to leave the apartment as he opened the door and waved her to exit first.

Making their way down to the street, Crona folded her arms in front of her and had a goal in mind of talking as little as possible during their walk. The clouds rolled overhead, with the gray lumps teasing earth with beams of light that would try to pass through.

Luckily, they didn't have to walk too far before seeing a familiar face.

"Wait UP!" a voice yelled from behind them.

Crona and Soul turned to see Black Star racing up behind to join them.

"I thought we were meeting you at the school?" Soul asked.

"Nah, I didn't go. Gods don't need to gift the academy with their presence on days like this" he boasted. Crona never quite understood why he thought he was a god. From old legends, God's tended to be untouchable and cruel to their worshipers. She thought of Black Star as scary, but not evil. She had seen evil and that defiantly was not him.

"What's up, Crona?" Black Star greeted, trying to be overly welcoming. Usually at some point, every time Black Star hung out with Crona he would nearly bring her to tears. Crona dipped her head a little lower to let her bangs fall over her eyes. Maka said to try and be more social, but she had all day to attempt that.

"We still have to go that way anyway, Maka had her test and Tsubaki had class, right?" Soul asked

"Yeah, yeah. Not all of us can be Death Scythes yet asshole" Black Star shot back, sounding brash as ever. Soul smirked.

"What about Kid and the girls?"

"He said something about renting out the dress place before we got there or something" Black Star said disinterested "We can meet him there"

"We gotta grab Ox and Harvar, too" Soul added. Black Star rolled his eyes and groaned. He loved showing those two up, but found them annoying. Crona didn't talk with them either.

"Hey, the wedding partys gotta be symmetrical in people too if Kid's the one planning it" Soul joked.

After reaching the academy, Maka, Tsubaki, Ox, and Harvar walked out to their friends and the group headed down town to an upscale dress and tuxedo boutique. The group walked through the enormous glass doors and Tsubaki and Maka exchanged gasps and giggles between each dress they passed through the main plaza. The inside of the building was a white stone color, making the building feel even more extravagant. The floor was polished perfectly and gave off a glossy pearl shine.

Maka approached the front desk, sliding a small card to the woman sitting there. Like many of the men and women working there, her style matched the proper upscale of where she worked. Her cheekbones were high and her brown hair was pulled perfectly on top of her head.

"Hello, I'm Maka Albarn and I have an appointment?"

The woman looked up and slipped the card into her hand to search on her computer for confirmation. As she typed, her fine nails made even more clicking noise along with her keyboard. She found what she was looking for and her straight expression changed into a warmer welcome.

"Ah, yes. Right this way" she said as she stood up and smiled. She led the group up to elevator and hit the button for the third floor. After the ascended, the were pleasantly surprised by the decor. The third floor was more lavish than the lobby.

"Lord Death insisted that this floor would be more to your liking, so we had it rented out to your party for the day at his request" she explained.

Crona had never seen so much white, gold, and silver in one place. There were small stage-like circles that were surrounded by white couches and plush looking seats. Mirrors built up several boarders. At one end she could see exclusively white dresses, while different colors lined the other side. A man stood off to the side at what appeared to be a commodity drink station, which seemed weird to Crona. _I hope I don't spill something._

"If there is anything at all you or your party needs, there is a full staff on this floor to cater to your needs. My name is Tana and I will also be in the lobby and you can call at anytime" she said to Maka who was still in shock and just offered a simple 'ok' in response.

She boarded the elevator and went back to her desk. The second the doors closed, Maka and Tsubaki erupted with excitement.

"This place is so beautiful!" Maka said, covering her mouth in disbelief as Tsubaki grabbed her arm and they began to bounce up and down.

"It was pretty cool of 'Lord Death' to hook us up" Soul agreed. Originally, he was prepared to pay for a small somewhat normal styled wedding, but Kid insisted that they deserved the best.

"Thats not polite of you to mock your host" Kid's voice corrected as he and the girls emerged from one of the backrooms. Both Patty and Liz had their arms full of dresses. As soon as they saw their friends their, they tossed them onto one of the couches in the center of the room and ran over to gush.

One of the workers in the back of the room showed great worry as he watched the thousand dollar dresses be tossed around. All of the employees were told that price was no issue since Kid said he would cover anything bought. Soul had originally planned to pay for his own wedding but his version would have been a small, intimate ceremony. Kid insisted that he would be the one to cover everything and give them the grand wedding they deserved. He also wanted a say to make sure all of the suits, dresses, décor, and locations would be symmetrical.

Even the lavish room they were currently in was picked by him. He couldn't see how anybody could focus if the room didn't have balance.

"Isn't this place amazing!" Patty squealed "I can't for Kid to bring me here when I get married"

Liz rolled her eyes. "Well get in line behind me. Anyway, check out these dresses we thought would look amazing on you. I prefer the sleek look but Patty was saying maybe something with a bigger skirt..."

Crona could tell as the conversations went on that it would be a girls day. The boys talked nothing about suits and just joked about the amount of liquor Black Star would consume at the reception. She tried to stay engaged in the conversation about length, style, and all other aspects of a dress but it was hard. She had no idea there was so much to know about clothes!

She crossed her arms and stood uncomfortably while the girls chirped back and forth.

"Alright, you ladies get to it and we will be in the other room" Kid announced, leading the other two out. Soul gave Maka a quick peck before leaving the girls.

"Okay! First things first, lets get you trying stuff on!" Patty said as she began to pushed Maka to a dressing room. Crona and Tsubaki took their seats on the white sofa as the sisters and workers helped Maka into her first dress.

"It's so nice isn't it?" Tsubaki asked sweetly. Crona had no idea what she was referring to, but Tsubaki was the kind of woman that didn't make her fearful. She found herself sometimes wishing her own mother had been like her.

"Oh...yeah" Crona agreed, confused but not wanting to clarify and look stupid.

"I love that weddings bring everyone together. Everything about them is beautiful and seeing the love between them is so wonderful" Tsubaki said, smiling. Before Crona could respond, people began stirring.

"Okay, get READY!" Patty ordered, running out to join them on the couch so she could see the dresses presentation too. Maka came out in a elegant slim fitting dress with a large train that was carried by Liz. She carefully stepped onto the platform so everyone could get a look at every angle of the dress. Tsubaki's smile gave its own wordless approval.

"Well what do you think?" one of the working assistants asked as she listed more details about the form and designer.

"I love it!" Patty said which caused Liz to nudge her to remind her it wasn't her call.

"I like it...but I don't think I can dance or move very much in it" Maka doubted.

"We know you defiantly need to be able to move _after the reception" _Liz hinted making Maka blush. Crona wasn't sure why she was embarrassed. It was no secret that the couple wasn't exactly celibate, Black Star tried to tease them about it all the time. Sometime she wondered if the two forgot that she was around because some sounds were audible...

Whenever her friends got on the subject, she tried to play dumb as best as she could. She wasn't oblivious to what people do. She understood it, she just didn't want to dwell on it. The thought of even kissing someone herself was so far out of her reach that she just pushed it aside.

After some debate, Maka stepped down and changed in and out of several different styles of dress. She even tried on some non-traditional colors. Finally she settled on the perfect one, a large ballroom gown with floor length that tied with a set of ribbons going down her slender back. All of the girls loved it. Even Crona thought she resembled something out of a fairy-tale.

In the time it took just Maka to pick out her dress, the boys had finished picking, getting measured, and ordering their tuxedos. As they tried to round the corner, Patty ran around to push Soul back.

"NO NO LOOKING, NOT BEFORE THE WEDDING IT'S BAD LUCK!" She shouted as she shoved him back the opposite way. The other four joined Crona and Tsubaki on the couch, getting a kick out of Patty the Enforcer.

Black Star took a seat between Crona and Tsubaki, making Crona feel like he cut away her safety net. Kid sat on the other side of her. Ox and Harvar stood behind the couch. Luckily, the sofa was large enough where they could all sit comfortably and be far from touching.

The workers measured Maka and sent her order in. Once she was back in her normal clothes, Patty allowed Soul to join everyone. He sat on a chair across from the large U-shaped couch and Maka came to sit on his lap. Employees worked behind them to put dresses away and keep the area in pristine condition.

"Alright, time to check you guys out" Maka said, looking at Crona. Liz and Patty excitedly ran off to the changing rooms as Tsubaki followed.

"Check what out?" Crona asked, getting more worried as she saw Tsubaki pick up a red dress that matched the two sisters. The three of them went to some of the dressing rooms right next to each other down the hall. Ox and Harvar snickered, making Crona feel even more discomfort.

"Well you guys have to get fitted too"

"I'm not in the ceremony" Crona insisted. She was hoping she was only invited today just so she didn't feel left out. Maka shook her head.

"No Crona, you're a good friend of ours. Of course you would be involved!"

"You live with us, how could we not have you in the wedding party?" Soul asked.

"Ragnarok...wouldn't like it" Crona opposed. For once, she wished he would pop out to object.

"Well I'm sure he would agree if I told him he could he couldn't have unlimited food access unless he helped us out" Maka bribed, calling out Crona's bluff.

"Just go try it on already" Black Star demanded, annoyed that she was still so shy. Maka glared at him for his tone. Crona stood up, grabbed the dress and followed toward where the girls were. As she came closer she could hear giggling and the opening and closing of doors. While the changing hall was out of sight of the main room where the others sat, once Crona rounded the corner she saw much more of the back and forth.

"Zip this for me!" Patti exclaimed, emerging from her changing room half dress to bang on her sisters door. Her sister opened her door to further shock Crona as Liz was in mid-change and stood in her bra and undergarments as she leaned out to help her sister. Crona froze. _Did all girls get dressed so openly?!_

"Do you think this is too tight?" Tsubaki said, pulling at the front of her dress.

"Not tight enough if you ask me!" Liz answered back.

"I feel like its not supporting enough" Tsubaki explained as she messed with her cleavage to better arrange herself. Crona spun back around to exit and head back to the others.

Halfway back, Maka walked across the room to meet her.

"That was fast" she noted "Did you try it on?"

Crona shook her head.

"Do you not like the color?" Maka asked "Cause Soul actually picked it out and it matches well with the suits but we could..."

"No I-I like it, just trying it on is...very open"

Maka looked confused. Kid noticed the two talking and walked over.

"Well once they do the measuring the size won't be so big if your worried about the open back..." she explained.

"I don't mind the style either" Crona said. Maka was still unsure of what she meant then. Kid interjected.

"Maybe you prefer to try it on in a more secluded place?" he asked, trying to sound helpful. Maka looked at him, then back at Crona who nodded lightly.

Kid insisted he would take care of it and ushered Maka to sit down and not worry. He went to a staff member and asked if there was an alternate changing area. She lead them down an aisle of dresses and around a pillar to a set of extra changing areas for people planning large weddings with multiple people. The woman unlocked the door and left them to it.

Crona stood with the dress hanging over her crossed arms. Kid looked for a moment then motioned at the door.

"I can wait outside" he said, leaving to give her space.

She quietly closed and locked her door. Turning around, she was greeted by a large mirror that was reflecting her worried expression back at her. After a moment of standing there motionless, she hung her dress carefully on the wall and began to take her shoes and other dressings off.

Ignoring the mirror as best as she could, she slipped into a strapless, long elegant ruby dress Maka had chosen. It was very form fitting until about knee length where it fanned out to exaggerate her figure. There was a small layer of black fabric near the bottom of the dress that trailed up the side. Something inside her hoped that Ragnarok wouldn't ruin this dress. She smoothed the dress as much as possible, then attempted to zip the back. After struggling for several minutes, she understood why girls had to become comfortable with asking other people to do small tasks like zipping.

Crona's stomach dropped when she heard a small knock on the door.

"Excuse me, Miss Crona?" an unfamiliar voice asked "Ms. Maka wanted me to let you all know that she does want to see the dresses on"

"Okay" Crona said, trying to dismiss the woman as soon as possible. She heard the footsteps fade away. She sat down on a small white chair in her fitting room. _Should I yell across the store for Maka to come help?_

Another knock sounded on the door.

"Sorry, I tried to keep her out. Do you need any help?" Kid asked. _'Oh no, all the other girls must be out there already' _Crona thought. Her heart began to race.

"No, uh yes. Well, no. I don't know. Can you zip a dress?" Crona asked frantically. She almost immediately regretted asking.

Kid looked at the door and smirked. "Yes, I know how to do that" he tried to hold back a chuckle. He could tell by the sound of her voice that she was frazzled.

"B-but don't look. Just...zip" she said, opening the door a cracked and looking at him.

"Alright" he agreed, looking up and away as he reached his hands through the door. Crona lined up so she wouldn't have to step out of the room to allow anyone else to see. Kid misjudged and accidentally put his first hand on her waist then pulled it away quickly. His second hand brushed against the fabric on her lower back as he found the zipper and closed it up slowly, being sure not to catch her skin. Kid pulled his hands out and stepped away from the door.

A moment later, she opened the door. He tried not to look up too fast but the red was very eye catching, even though it was half hidden behind the changing room door.

"You look fantastic" he said, smiling "Let's go show Maka"

Hoping to coax her out, he waited a minute. After taking a second to hid her noticeable blush she stepped out. She didn't have her dress shoes yet, which made her footsteps completely silenced. He noticed she was still nervous and offer his arm. She stared for a moment then accepted. Linking her arm in his made it easier to pretend she was just a shadow as he lead her over to the group.

Maka was in the middle of having a staff member adjust and re-pin Tsubaki's gown as she stood on the small, stage-like circle. She noticed Crona and grinned.

"You look wonderful Crona!" she exclaimed, causing the rest of the group to look over. Soul gave an approving smile while the sisters hustled over. Ox looked shocked.

"Wow, that is a great fit on you!" Liz added, pulling Cronas arm up so she could get a good look. Crona removed her arm from Kid, allowing him to sit with the guys.

"I knew red would suit you all nicely" Soul added.

Patty came over to investigate. All the girls began buzzing about the beautiful pictures they would all be in and how great the dresses would shine while on the dance floor and for once Crona felt involved. She had the same dress as the others and was proud.

"Very balanced" Crona heard Kid say "It looks great" he added, making direct eye contact with her and giving a small smile. She looked away but felt a feeling of giddiness in her stomach at the though of him still looking.

Once everyone had their measurements finished and ordered their attire, Kid paid for it all as Maka and the girls thanked him profusely. The group emerged from the boutique after their several hours of shopping. Ox and Harvar dismissed themselves for a class they were about to be late to and Patty and Liz continued their shopping excursion for more accessories for their outfits.

"I'm starving, do you want to grab lunch?" Soul asked Maka and the remaining group.

"No thanks, I have to get back to my father soon" Kid declined.

"I'm not very hungry" Crona said. '_Maybe I'm getting sick with this weird feeling in the stomach...' _she thought.

"We're in!" Black Star agreed. Tsubaki nodded.

"Well we can make something at home I guess if Crona doesn't want to go" Maka said.

"No, it's okay. You deserve time out" Crona assured.

"I'll make sure she gets home safe" Kid offered. Maka looked a little hesitant but relieved. She knew Crona hated long walks alone in Death City because she feared Eruka or her mother would approach her again.

"Okay" she agreed "We'll be home before dark"

The group thinned even more as the two left for home.

Crona walked in step with Kid silently. She crossed her hands in front of her again and he walked calmly with his hands in his pockets. After several minutes she felt she should say something. Anything.

"I can walk home alone if this is boring for you" she said quickly. Kid looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

"I wouldn't have offered if I didn't want to"

She looked straight ahead again. Embarrassed that she couldn't show as much confidence as Patty or Liz. _'They would never tell a boy something like that'._

Their silent walk continued. She began to wonder why he wasn't talking. Was he offended she didn't thank him earlier?

"Thank you for helping me earlier" she said, hoping to get more out of him.

"Of course"

Crona disliked long conversations, but this was ridiculous. She was putting in an effort. After ten more minutes of silent walking, she decided to try one more time.

"Do you like movies?" she asked. Kid smiled at the random line of questioning.

"Yes I like movies" he chuckled as they turned a corner, passing a sweet shop.

"I do too"

He grinned at her general statement.

"Well?" he asked, changing his smile so he wouldn't make her feel embarrassed. Crona looked confused.

"What kind of movies do you like?" he asked as they neared her home. Her eyes shifted as she thought about lying.

"I-I can't pick" she fibbed. The way he looked at her, she was certain he knew that was a lie.

"Ah. Well I like drama" he informed. Crona opened the gate to the fence in front of the apartment and entered.

"I've never seen a drama" Crona admitted.

"It has a sort of balance. If the theme is tragedy, the whole plot will revolve around it" he explained, giving his point of view. Crona nodded.

"Have a good night, you looked great today" he said as he began to walk away and gave a small wave. She waved back and felt Ragnarok finally begin to stir as she hurried inside, watching from the window as he walked away.

**"Woah, what did I miss? Why are you being creepy? But more importantly, when are you going to give me food?" **he asked with his small hand on his belly. Crona blocked him out as she sat in the window thinking. She ran to the kitchen and grabbed several items of junk food to keep Ragnarok busy while she grabbed her DVD and threw it in for the 3rd time in two days.

* * *

More to come eventually!


	4. Chapter 4

**Thank you to those reading!**

**I can write more often now, so I hope to be updating more frequently!**

**Chapter 3**

* * *

The day after the fitting was partially a blur. Crona had class and things went on as normal with her friends. Her first class did not have any of her friends in it so she sat in the front corner, away from the bulk of the class. While this wasn't a class based on her core curriculum at DWMA, it was still her favorite. It was a mythology course. Even though the shibushen knew monsters and magic existed, the material had to be taught and represented in a mythological format because some of the material had not been proven to be true in the world.

Crona learned that she loved learning. She wouldn't score as high as Maka on the tests, but it was a pleasant surprise that she could handle the same course work as her peers.

Medusa had taught Crona the basics on reading, writing, and mathematics as a child. Maka made an excellent tutor. Crona loved to learn about the world and different cultures. It felt good to know that everyone was different and what was odd in one culture, could be completely normal in another.

Her mythology class always seemed to go by quickly, even though it was 2 hours long. At noon, she met Tsubaki and Black Star in the commons for lunch. The next class starting at 1 o'clock would have almost all of her friends in it because it was a core class dealing with the evolution and application of early fighting styles. They would learn how miesters and weapons from centuries ago would over come challenges as well.

She sat at the table eating an apple until Ragnarok decided he needed it more. She wasn't that hungry anyway. She didn't mind eating in front of her friends, as long as no one made a big deal about it. Seeing that he was hungry, Tsubaki gave Ragnarok an extra container of her own cooking that she had brought, making him squeal in delight.

"What the hell? What am I going to eat?" Black Star argued. He quickly dismissed his disappointment and headed toward the snack bar for a burger.

"How did you like your dress yesterday?" Tsubaki asked, making conversation.

"I enjoyed it. I hope he doesn't ruin it though" Crona said, using her eye gaze to point at Ragnarok as he practically inhaled his food.

"Did Maka tell you who you are going to walk with in the wedding?"

"Not yet" Crona asked. Sometime ago, she had Maka clarify why there were such things as Maid of Honor or Best Man.

"She told us last night she was thinking of changing the order. I'm walking with Black Star because of us being the Best Man and Maid of Honor and because...well you know people have a hard time adjusting to his...personality" Tsubaki said, looking over at Black Star as he shouted about being cut in line and several students were trying to hold him back.

In a way, Black Star reminded Crona of herself. Sure, he had a self centered personality and wanted to be the greatest. It wasn't totally his fault though. Tsubaki had confided vaguely that he had a difficult life as a child and had come from a brash family. Crona could understand that. Her background was not too far off from hers. She had never talked to Black Star about it, but secretly she knew that's why he tried to protect her if he thought she was in trouble or something made her upset. She was a sort-of un-biological sister in his eyes.

The blue haired boy returned to the table.

"Sorry about that" he said, looking at Tsubaki "but that guy was a real asshole"

Tsubaki smiled. She was a practically a saint and could let any of Black Stars actions or outbursts roll off her shoulder. After several minutes, Soul and Maka joined the table shortly followed by Kid and the sisters. Crona lit up as soon as she saw him, hoping he would sit near her. Instead he sat on the opposite side of the table with a Liz on one side and Patty on the other. She pushed her thoughts away as her groups chatter grew loud.

_Why did I think anything of this? _she thought, fustrated.

She faded in and out of the conversation as she watch them smile and laugh. At one point Liz momentarily playfully put her arm around Kids shoulders and laughed.

_They joke like that all the time. Why is it a big deal now?_

_Of course he was just being nice, he used to being around girls all the time and knows how to be polite._

The sensation in her stomach had changed from a flutter to a sickening feeling. Ragnarok stopped eating after he sensed her discomfort. Once in a great while, he could be understanding. He didn't alert the group obnoxiously or try to embarrass her.

**"You're making me feel sick too and I don't like it, what's going on?" **he asked quietly in her ear, completely inaudible to the rest of the roaring group. Crona shook her head. Even with their blood fused, he couldn't read her thoughts. He could only feel strong emotions because they would trickle down to him. Crona stared at the table until it was time to go to class. She ignored him because it would alert Maka if she saw Ragnarok and her whispering. Ragnarok made some uncomfortable noises before merging into her spine.

The all stood and Crona made sure to keep in pace with Maka. Black Star and Kid walked ahead of them with Tsubaki. As the years had gone on, Kid had grown slightly in height at stature. Crona used to be a little taller than him, but like all the boys in their group they began to change from boys to men. Maka had filled out as well too, although Soul still teased her for her 'board like shape' even though she had grown out of that. Crona wondered if she had changed too.

When she caught reflections of herself in windows as they walked, she still looked the same. Hair slightly longer maybe? Liz always hinted about her hips and how she should wear clothes to show herself off more.

_'Boys go crazy for that kind of thing' _She remembers Liz telling her while trying to send her home with one of her crop top shirts that exposed her abdomen.

Soul held the door as they all filed in a few minutes before class started. Maka urged everyone to be earlier, but it wasn't like Black Star or Soul paid much attention during the lessons anyway.

The eight of them climbed the small steps to their usual seats in the middle of the class room. Crona usually sat in the middle between Black Star and Maka. As Maka and Crona sat, they began setting their bags down and getting their books out. Maka leaned forward to ask Kim about the upcoming test and grib about how her father was rumored to be an upcoming speaker at the school.

"Hey what the hell?! Thats my spot!" Black Star shouted causing Crona to look up at his direction, thinking she had accidentally taken his seat. Kid ignored him and claimed the seat next to Crona.

"Well, move down one more. I want to get a better view on today's lesson" Kid hushed "Your spot gives a better view" he said, setting his bag down. Crona looked down the row, Black Star sat on the other side of Tsubaki next to Patty. He enjoyed goofing off with her anyway because she paid as much attention as he did.

Professor Stein finally emerged and began to write on the board as the moderate talking subsided.

"Alright class, as you know we have covered the evolution of spear and knife weapons and miesters..." he recapped.

"Only because spear miesters are basically cave men" Crona heard Black Star mutter in Ox's ear, causing him to glare and shush him, making Patty giggle.

"Well today we are going to jump forward quite a bit to the evolution of how a firearm or hand gun became a viable weapon for miester" he elaborated. Crona pursed her lips. _'Well that would be why he changed seats' _she thought glumly, secretly hoping that he just wanted to sit next to her for the day.

Stein continued his lecture and Maka and Tsubaki took careful notes. Crona tried to take notes like Maka, but was better at naturally retaining it. Maybe it was the years of abusive training from her mother that helped her catch on and remember things quickly.

_I feel so stupid. Whats come over me ? I don't have time for worrying like this. Am I a child? _

"...and as technology improved, a cross bow became a demon weapon and was thought to be revolutionary..." she heard Steins lecture echo in her head. Even with her light pink eyes focused forward, her mind was far away from this lesson. Further making her angry because she wanted to pay attention.

An hour passed and she managed to get through the lecture. There was a small assignment then Stein informed the students there would be a test on the material next week. As students began to abandon their seats and file out, Crona leaned and looked down to put her book away, causing her pink hair to dance in front of her face slightly.

"Maka!" a shout came from the door. Maka and all the remaining students looked at the doorway to see Maka's father, Spirit, waving erratically. Maka frowned deeply while Black Star laughed and pointed at her.

"Your daddy's here!" he teased, resulting in a Maka-Chop.

"Maka, Maka, I thought you would like your Papa to take you out for dinner today. I heard you picked your dress and it brings tears to my eyes when I picture walking you down the isle!" he chattered, causing more embarrassment to Maka.

"...Thanks great dad, but I think..uh...Liz wanted me to help her with...table decorations..?" Maka tried desperately to make something up.

"Nope, I can get someone elses help. I think its important you spend the day with your...Papa. You and Soul go and don't worry about a thing" Liz offered, giving Maka an exaggerated grin like she was doing her a huge favor. Soul glared and flashed Liz a middle finger as he stood behind Spirit, out of his sight. Spirit was ecstatic.

"Great, a day with my Maka!" he said cheerily, then suddenly dropping his expression "...and Soul." he said flatly.

Spirit had always made it clear that he was uncomfortable with his daughter being partners with Soul. Mostly because he was a boy. He was even more uncomfortable when then first got their apartment together before they started dating. Then when he heard of the engagement, he was excited and completely uncomfortable that all of his fears had become reality.

"I heard you put in a good effort to try to be a Death Sycthe..." Spirit said smugly to Soul.

"I am a Death Scythe" Soul stated dryly. Maka gave her father an angry look.

"You know I'm his meister, right Papa? So if you insult him-"

"No no no, I wasn't insulting him Maka honey. I was just...keeping up on current events" he said "I just have to grab some things from Stein and then we can head out"

Spirit waved goodbye to Maka's friends then lead Maka and Soul away. Maka turned and frowned deeply at Crona before waving goodbye. Crona smiled, still feeling remorse for her friend. She didn't fully understand why Maka couldn't show her father affection. Maka had told her about the divorce due to his infidelity, but if Crona had a father or mother that had showered her with that much affection...actually Crona had no idea what she would do if she had that.

Crona tossed her bag around her shoulders as she headed for the door.

"Where are you going?" Liz asked. Crona skidded to a stop, surprised that Liz had directed a question at her.

"...home?" Crona half-asked.

"Well Maka might have just been bull-shitting her dad, but we could actually use help on some of the wedding stuff if you wanted to come over" Liz offered. Crona beamed. Crona shoved all of her previous worries aside and accepted. Hanging out with her friends was the best way to get her mind off things. Maybe she could even ask the sisters for advice.

Crona noticed out of the corner of her eye that Kid was leaving with Black Star. Patty noticed Crona's look and mistook it for worry.

"Don't worry, he won't be there. He has to meet his dad too. Lord Death has something important to discuss with him" Patty informed happily.

* * *

The three girls made their way to a luxury car waiting for them outside. Due to the sisters being Kid's weapons, they had become used to the perks of the lifestyle. They pulled up around a fountain to the mansion which was almost as intimating as the people who owned it. Crona played with her sleeves as Patty lead her into the main room past maids and dozens of rooms. Even in the hall way the extravagant furniture that put the decor in the dress boutique to shame.

"Okay I'll give you a quick tour" Patty exclaimed, throwing her hands on her hips causing her cowgirl hat to tilt. Walking down the right hall, she showed the kitchen, library, exercise room, and a large bathroom. Down another hall way there was a game room, dining room, a study, and several other rooms that she wasn't shown.

"Our rooms are upstairs, but were gunna make our arts and crafts in the dining room cause theres more table space" she said, smiling from ear to ear.

"If you need a snack or whatever, just ask one of these guys to grab you something" Liz said, motioning to one of the several servants.

After much arrangement, Patty utilized several of the maids to bring objects for arts and crafts. Numerous bins filled to the top were brought out as Patty quickily made a mess.

"We're trying to make these for the centerpieces" Liz said, showing Crona a picture she had cut out from a magazine. The picture was glossy and showed a 'Do It Yourself' article with a red rose inside of a jar with some sort of liquid in it that made it float. "We tried to get kid to buy them, but since every rose doesn't have an even number of petals he doesn't think it is worth spending money on".

"We're gunna add more ribbons and make the outsides look better!" Patty cheered, already completely covering a jar in hot glue. The maids began to sweat as the watched Patty begin to destroy the once beautiful table.

"Won't the decorations be even less balanced now?" Crona asked, noting Patty's handiwork. Liz shrugged and sat at the table to start making the mixture.

Liz made the first jar, giving the other two an example to follow. The jar turned out much better than expected, as she even had a plan to have Blair enchant the jar so it would glow. Crona stared into the jar, the flower and its petals floated weightlessly in the mixture. The originally red rose had intensified to a brilliant shade while sparkles of glitter stood motionless around the piece.

After Crona and Patty attempted to recreate the design, they managed to ruin several jars apiece. Liz ordered they work in an assembly line. Crona would add the clear goo mixture and stir in the glitter, then Liz would position the rose and seal the jar, and Patty would tie a black ribbon around the rim of the lid. After making almost 15 of the center pieces together, Crona was filled with pride that she was helping create something, instead of destroy.

The long table quickly became covered in finished jars as the hours rolled on.

"We have more to make and I have more ideas for lanterns we want to hang" Liz stated, looking at their progress. Crona looked up at the clock, it was late evening and she expected to be dismissed to go home any moment.

"Are ya hungry?" Patty asked, grabbing Crona by the wrist and leading her to the kitchen anyway. Crona felt uncomfortable by the sudden contact but didn't have a say. For such a small girl, Patty had a strong grip. Liz stayed behind to give direction to where she wanted the workers to store their creations.

Patty dug through the fridge, taking small bites of the food as she went along. She finally was able to get Crona to agree to eat a grilled cheese sandwhich after she listed off every imaginable food possible that they had in the house. Patty slid the sandwhich to Crona. It had been almost completely charred on one side, but Crona didn't complain.

"Are you thirsty?" Patty asked, trying to be the best hostess. Crona nodded after she took a bite. Assuming she would offer water, Crona didn't specify. Even when she saw Patty disappear for a strange length of time. Her sandwich was almost finished by the time Patty returned and gave her a glass with strange red liquid in it.

"What is that?" Crona asked.

"It's good" Patty said, smiling "Kinda like...fruit punch"

Crona didn't give it a second thought as she took a large sip. The taste buds on her tongue were totally surprised by a new, almost bitter, yet sweet sensation. _That was not punch_. She looked at Patty, who was drinking a similar looking drink from her own glass.

"What do you think? I call it Ambrosia Mars. I made it myself!" she said proudly, taking a larger drink. Crona smelled it and caught the strong scent of alcohol that she hadn't before.

"...it's-"

"Patty! What are you doing?!" Liz asked, seeing the drinks and knowing her sister all too well. She grabbed the glass from her sister, which was almost empty anyway. The taste lingered on Crona's tongue.

"I was just having her try it, if I'm gunna try to bar tend at the reception I want to have practice..." Patty said, frowning deeply and crossing her arms in a childish manner.

"You don't just push drinks on Crona! For god sake Patty, use your brain" she looked over at Crona "I am so sorry"

"Oh, I don't mind..it was good" Crona protested, not wanting Patty to get in too much trouble. Liz lowered her arm a little, the look of worry slightly disappeared from her face. She also didn't want Liz to see her as childish.

"Have you drank before Crona?" Liz asked, setting the glass back on the marble counter.

Crona nodded. Technically, it was only a few sips when Maka and Soul announced their engagement during a dinner with her. Soul had ordered champagne and the waiter had filled Crona's glass before she could turn him down. It wasn't for dislike of alcohol, she just never saw a point in indulging. It's not like Medusa just let her go to parties growing up. Not that there were any parties she was ever invited to due to her isolation from the world.

"Well, if you want some you can have some. I'm not your mom..." Liz said, finishing the rest of her sisters drink. Patty's face perked up as she ran to go grab her ingredients to make more, Crona extended her arm in an attempt to protest.

Patty mixed her drink again, using a shaker and trying to look professional but looked more comical than anything. Liz retrieved a glass for herself.

"The wedding is coming up, it's probably best to build up your tolerance now in the company of friends" Liz said, trying to be nice without pressuring Crona. Patty topped her drink off and then filled her sisters, while Crona nursed her own drink slowly. Crona noticed that even after one glass, Liz had begun to giggle and joke more freely. Whatever combination of liquor was in the drinks was enough to pack a punch, yet mask the taste of the liquor well, which was the only reason Crona kept sipping. She didn't care for the taste of alcohol, but this didn't taste like it.

After another glass, the girls began to question Crona about what it was like to have Ragnarok.

"Does it hurt to have him on your back?"

"Does he choose when he comes out?"

"If he hits you, shouldn't it hurt him slightly too?"

Crona tried to explain. It used to hurt when he was stronger. In his smaller state, it is much less overwhelming. In certain times, he can choose whether or not he wants out or in. No, it doesn't hurt him. Crona was almost giddy that they weren't freaked out by him and that they were comfortable with asking.

"Ha, with him being so small I bet I could take him" Liz challenged. Cronas faced dropped as she felt him emerge. He defiantly didn't care for that last comment. His small black form appeared and held onto Cronas shoulder.

**"Take me in what? A contest for looking like a cow?" **Ragnarok insulted. Crona's face turned red as she winced, trying to apologize and run damage control before he upset her.

"Hey didn't mean that, h-he just hasn't eaten much and-"

"I think I can take you in anything tiny guy" Liz mocked, Patty's cooing and commenting how cute he was made him more furious. Crona couldn't believe they were actually picking on him.

**"Name it! I'll kick your ass!" **he yelled, waving his small arms.

Liz pushed over her drink and some bottles to make room, setting her elbow down and opening her hand to an arm wrestle. Crona's excitement faded as she realized she would have to lead him over there to try.

**"Oh, you're on!" **he said happily **"Crona, come on!" **he commanded in his small voice, pulling her hair to lead her over there. Crona sat on a stool so he could line up and link hands.

Patty gave the count down and his arm was immediately pinned due to its shortness. Liz laughed mockingly, which gave him enough drive to pin her two times after that, winning the arm wrestle.

"Oh what the hell, that's not fair" Liz complained, taking a swig of her drink.

**"Not my fault your flabby arms are weak, what else do you want to lose at?" **he asked, excited for a chance to show her up. Liz looked around the room for something she knew she could win at. After squinting and looking all around, her eyes finally landed on the drink in her hand. Her eyes lit up.

"How 'bout you and I go shot for shot?" she challenged, thinking of what a tiny stomach he must have. Patty cheered, growing up on the streets she knew her sister could put a few away.

"I think Maka's going to wonder where we are, we should go-" Crona tried.

**"Line 'em up Moo Moo" **Ragnarok accepted. Patty tried her take again at bar tending as she sloppily poured two lines of 5 glasses with a stronger clear liquor. Liz tilted her head back, making her long hair swing slightly as she consumed her drink. Ragnarok had to use both of his rounded hands to grab his shot glass, which made Liz and Patty giggled excessively together as he countered.

"Aw, he's just so cute!" Patty cooed, further pissing Ragnarok off. The two quickly downed all their share of drinks. Crona was thankful she didn't have to taste the drinks. As she watched Liz, after each shot she would squeeze her eyes shut as if that helped the taste.

Crona began to suddenly feel a little funny. Not the way she felt around Kid, but a different, almost dizzy sensation. Her mind felt as if it was on automatic as she took a bigger drink from her glass while Ragnarok continued to insult Liz.

Crona had never experience alcohol or its effects. She also didn't realize that even if it was Ragnarok taking the strong drinks, it would quickly affect her blood alcohol level too due to them sharing the same black blood. She also had eaten very little that day, so while Ragnarok small stomach had plenty to absorb what he was drinking, Crona did not.

After several more drinks and shots, Crona was feeling less confused and more fantastic. Eventually Ragnarok became slightly intoxicated and decided he had enough of Liz's stupid contests and threw a fit and merged back with his miester, leaving her to handle the condition he had left her in.

"I feel bad, Maka will be so m-mad" Crona slightly slurred as guilt weighed on her mind.

"Nah! She's gunna do this same thing at her wedding ya know" Liz comforted, waving her hand to dismiss her idea.

It had gotten pretty late and Crona couldn't focus on anything but how Maka would be angry toward her.

"I think...she's going to hate me" Crona mumbled as tears began to form. Liz quickly ran to her and put her arm around her, swaying slightly as the stood in the kitchen.

"Hey, hey, hey. No" she said, tapping her nose lightly. Liz was quite tipsy herself.

"How can she hate you when you made those good-great jars with us?" Patty reasoned. Patty half-drunkenly asked a maid to go grab some sleep wear for all three of them. Crona overheard and objected.

"I can't stay here!" she cried, causing more over emotional sound than she intended.

Patty lead Crona to the couch in the large living room as she turned the tv on.

"Sure you can! It's basically a sleep over" Patty assured, grabbing armfuls of blankets and pillows from a nearby linen closet.

"Besides, we can't send you home to Maka all upset" Liz said, already in her pajamas. Patty grabbed her sleepwear and carefully lead Crona to a bathroom where she could change. Changing proved to be a much harder task as she wobbled and tried to use the counter to steady herself. After successfully changing and tossing her old clothes into a pile, she looked in the large mirror at her slightly blurred reflection. Her borrowed sleep wear was a black tank top and silk sky blue pj pants. Normally she would feel much more opposed to the tank top but she wasn't in the state of mind to care.

"This is okay, you're doing okay" Crona said to her reflection, pointing at it during the pep talk. She lowered her hand as she noticed how odd it was to be actively talking to herself again. She played around with her reflection a little more by ducking and trying to maintain eye contact with herself as she moved back and forth, before finally opening the door to leave.

As she stepped forward to exit, she heard a different voice down the hall in the living room.

"Patty, what happened in the dining room?" she heard Kids voice trail.

"We were, ah...decorating" she stated simply. Crona slowly shut the door as she heard him ask if they had been drinking. Cronas stomach began to twist and an unpleasant feeling came over her. She felt her face flush as nausea swam over her. _'What- will he be angry?' _Crona worried, causing her body more discomfort. Crona sat on the edge of the large Jacuzzi tub, holding her head in her hands as the room spun.

Her heartbeat slowly returned to normal and she stood attempted to exit again. As soon as she took a step out the door, she noticed there was no more talking from down the hall. She looked to her right and saw the golden eyed boy looking back at her. Her face turned pale as she tried to act natural.

"Are you alright?" Kid asked, noticing her inching back toward the safety of the bathroom.

"Me? Oh, yeah I'm having a gre-" she tried to assure before slamming the door and running back to the bathroom to vomit. Thanks to Ragnarok, it took a little bit to completely empty her stomach. In her rush, she didn't lock the door and Kid had followed her in once he heard the noises subside. As she sat on the floor next to the toilet, he retrieved several things from a closet in the bathroom while attempting to ignore Crona becoming sick.

Once she was finished, she leaned back still feeling woozy and drained. Somehow her eyes had become damp from watering. Kid handed her a wet wash cloth to clean herself. She accepted, too sick too feel embarrassed.

"I bet you don't think very m-much of me right now" Crona said sadly, still leaning near the cold bowl. Kid looked at her unflinching.

"You don't think I've seen Liz or Patty in worse conditions?" he asked. Crona smiled to herself thinking about them in their drunken endeavors.

"Did jyou have a great time with your dad?" Crona asked informally, slurring her words but trying to gain control. Kid chuckled and rolled his eyes. He stood and offered his hand to get her to her feet. She stood up almost too quickly, losing her balance slightly. Kid used his body to counter hers and wrapped his arm around her to steady her.

He walked her back out to the couch with Liz and Patty. He ordered a small tray of bread and some aspirin to be placed by her.

"The bread will help soak up some of the alcohol in your stomach" Kid informed, having Crona take a bite. Liz and patty looked over from separate couches.

"Leave her alone, we can do it!" Liz argued. Patty began to steal bread off the tray as well.

"Yeaah, you're not invited to the girls night!" Patty agreed.

Kid obliged and left the girls to their movie. The lights were dimmed and Patty and Liz chose a romantic comedy, which had a different plot than the one Crona enjoyed, but she was still as happy as she could be while feeling like she was going to be sick again.

"Do you ever wonder what...a boy thinks about you?" Crona quietly asked Liz. Liz scoffed.

"Boys should wonder what _I_ think about _them"_ she countered. Suddenly the wires in her brain connected.

"Why? Do you like someone?" she asked, catching Pattys attention. Crona regretted asking.

"Well, I just mean...how did Maka and Soul know?" Crona tried turning the question away from her. One of the maids brought Crona an extra blanket as the girls winded down on the sofa. Liz sat to think for a second.

"I think you just know" she said simply. Crona didn't know if she was just being vague or if was the drinking.

"Yeah, you feel it" Patty chimed in, tapping her fingers on the area over your heart.

"Oh Patty, like you would know!" Liz doubted. Patty pouted. Another maid distributed a stack of pillows for the girls.

"I would too! It's like matching soul wavelengths, only...you don't have to try as hard because it just happens" Patty explained surprisingly articulate, given her current state.

"Theres a little more to it, like, this one time I had a boyfriend and at the beginning he would act a certain way and I was totally blind-sided when I found out half of our relationship was him pretending" Liz explained. Crona was baffled to why someone would pretend to be something their not. How could someone do that? Is that what she was doing?

"Am I something I'm not?" Crona asked. Usually she kept these thoughts to herself, but found that she couldn't help blurting it out. Patty raised an eyebrow.

"I don't think you would be asking that if you weren't being yourself" Patty said, confusing herself then resting her head on the couch and looking at the TV screen. Crona smiled, even if hanging out with the sisters confused her, it made her feel more accepted.

"I like you guys" Crona slurred, beginning to drift off. Crona laid on one end of the couch with Liz at the other end and Patty on another neighboring couch.

"We...you..too" Liz said, already half asleep as the light of the large TV danced over her face. The voices from the movie faded and were replaced with soft snores from the sisters. Even with her eyes closed, her world still felt like it was spinning.

Minutes later from kitchen, Kid looked over at Cronas sleeping form as he headed toward his room for the night. He walked over to the TV to shut it off. He looked at Crona's face, which had her unruly pink bangs fanned across. He noticed she looked much more peaceful as she slept. She looked free from worry as he caught one more glimpse before he walked down the dark hallway to his room.

...

* * *

**Hey, sorry about the length and the mass amounts of cheesiness. I have to some how get from one chapter to another though.**

**This chapter felt so tacky to write, but I have a direction I'm going in so bear with me. **

**Thanks for reading!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Thank you for the reviews and for continuing to read. Hopefully I can kick the progession up a notch!**

**Chapter 5-**

Crona's eyes slighlty peered open as she woke up. She felt like complete death. Keeping her eyes squinted, she shifted on to her elbow to look around. She had to remember she wasn't home, she was still with Liz and Patty. She had not blacked out but it worried her for a moment to not be sure lf where she was.

The two sisters continued to sleep, Liz with her arm draped over her face and Patty with her blanket kicked off and on the floor as she lay sprawled out. Crona felt her head pulse as her dehydrated body demanded water.

Having no idea what time it was, Crona quietly got up from the couch to check the clock on the kitchen stove down the hall. Her footing was slightly off as she half tripped over a coffee table on her way out.

Making her way to the kitchen, she felt cold, warm, and horrible all rolled into one. She crossed her arms to hold herself as she walked, crossing through the main room, past a large staircase. Noticing a large clock near the door that read 6:42. She noticed it was just barely light out and decided to leave before the girls could wake up.

Crona went back to the bathroom to change back into her clothes from the day before and leave her borrowed sleep wear behind. Looking at her reflection briefly, she saw familiar black circles under her eyes from exhaustion and sickness.

She looked around the large main room one last time, trying to remember if she had forgotten anything. She opened the large doors as quietly as she could which still gave boisterous creak as they leaned open. They boomed slightly as she exited and pushed them shut. Even in the morning, the lawn of the mansion looked pristine. As she descended the circular drive, she looked at the perfectly maintained trees and flower beds. A large water fountain trickled in perfect time as she walked down the drive, hearing the sound of the water fade as she gained distance.

Luckily, it was early in Death City so the temperature was still cool. Her stomach did small flips after every few steps as she walked past fields and forests near Kid's house. She liked the laid back atmosphere here. Things didn't feel rushed. Kid's house wasn't in the middle of nowhere by any means but it was just outside of the city. Enough to have privacy. People of the town were just beginning to stir as she quickly made her way back into city limits. Her tall frame quickly appeared short as she neared the tall buildings of the town.

As she made the transfer from dirt road to the brick of the main road, he stomach gave one last rebellion, causing Crona to dash for a near by shrub and empty her stomach one more time. Crona stood up straight as she touched her sleeve to the edge of her chin and held her stomach with her hand.

"Are you okay?" a cheery voice asked, Crona looked over quickly. She was startled by someone being awake so suddenly. The blonde hair of Ms. Marie bobbed toward her as she approached Crona. She was in her jogging clothes and didn't look the least bit tired.

Technically, she wasn't Ms. Marie anymore. She was Mrs. Stein, but the students at the academy had become accustom to her original name that it was much easier to use. Many of the students and faculty couldn't believe when Stein and Marie had married. Most of the school thought it was a trick of some sort, but once the two had their first child, more people believed it was for real.

"Oh Crona! I thought that was you, what are you doing out here so early?" she questioned, shifting her mood from happy to quizzical "Also, why are you...sick?"

"I stayed with Liz and Patty and-"

"Ah, alright say no more!" Ms. Marie said, fully understanding. She believed all the students were moral and had wonderful potential, but she knew some could be more rowdy than others. Crona slightly lurched again causing Marie to look very uncomfortable while she tried to pat Cronas back to show care.

Crona loved Ms. Marie, but she still felt horrible when she saw her. If she had to pick the one person she betrayed the most at the DWMA other than Maka, it would be Ms. Marie. It had been years since Crona had put the snakes in her drink and Ms. Marie and everyone had claimed to have forgiven her, but it always stuck in the back of her mind.

Ms. Marie could give support to anybody and was one of, if the the kindest, person she had ever met.

"I'm okay though, I'm just headed home" Crona said. Ms. Marie looked concerned.

"Nonsense! You can come to my house, I have the perfect tea to help a hangover!" Ms. Marie exclaimed, causing Crona's head to throb more.

"I think Maka will wonder where I am, I don't think I told her I would be gone for so long..." Crona said, trailing off. Ms. Marie happily wrapped her arm around Crona and began to lead her as they walked.

"Don't worry about a thing, I will let her know. I think Stein has her in a morning class today anyway, so he can deliver the message. Do you have class today? Because if you do I don't know if it would be so wise to go. Maybe you can take the day off and help me" she chattered, barely taking a moment to catch her breath.

"I don't think...I should just get going" Crona said, considering the new thought of Marie's baby being there too. Crona didn't know how to deal with babies. She made a nuisance of herself when she first learned of Marie and Steins pregnancy and asked when they planned to change the babies blood, which caused mixed reactions. The group of her friends did go see the baby when it was first born. Marie had chosen the name Damien, who was born a healthy boy with light blonde hair.

Crona noticed that even Stein was on edge the day of the birth.

_"Stein, why don't you come hold him now?" Marie asked from the hospital bed as the students sat around her, looking and cooing at the baby. Stein stood off in the corner of the room away from the others._

_"I can wait" He said flatly. Marie looked displeased, which made Crona worried._

_"God, Stein. Get over here and hold your son. You won't hurt him" Marie ordered, using the most serious voice any of the students had ever heard her use. Crona watched as Stein stood there for a moment. He was worried he would hurt his own child. He didn't want to dissect him or destroy him. Stein feared for his own madness and how it would effect his family._

Crona remembered wishing that her mother had felt so cautious with her. She never hesitated or feared to harm Crona. She _thrived_ in it. Maybe in another world, there was a version of Medusa that had a second thought. A Medusa that didn't want her daughter to feel hurt or pain. A Medusa that wanted her child to be a child and not a kishin. A Medusa that wouldn't lock her away for days or cut her open.

That Medusa didn't exist, as much as Crona wished.

Eventually, Stein did hold his son. After that he could hardly put him down. All the fear and worry had faded away after he looked into the boys eyes. He knew he could never hurt him.

"Crona, please. It would mean a lot to me" Marie said quietly. Crona knew she didn't have an argument after that. Crona knew that she could never take back what she did to Ms. Marie and the other students, but she would spend the rest of her life trying to make it up to them. The two walked back to Ms. Marie's house as the sun rose higher.

Ms. Marie opened the door allowing Crona in first. Her eyes were draw to the floor of the living room where Damien sat in a bouncing toy. The once creepy home was now littered in baby toys. The walls still showed the arrow paintings and stitching that it had before Marie moved in, but she added her own feminine touch and then the baby added his own touch once he was born.

Crona froze as she watched his chubby harms toss more toys around and reach for a mirror that was attached to the toy. Stein sat at a desk next to the bouncer, looking up at the door. Stein leaned over and picked up a toy his son had thrown and handed it back to him, causing the baby to coo happily.

"Hey, Crona" Stein greeted, looking back to his screen. Crona waved as she kept her eyes locked on the baby. Something about him made her feel uncomfortable. He seemed...too happy.

"Hi baby! Did you miss me?" Marie asked in a high pitched voice as she scooped him up. Stein gave a barely noticeable smile as she walked into the kitchen with the baby. He quickly studied Crona's expression and body language.

"Rough night?" he asked.

"Huh? Oh...yes" Crona answered, shifting her eyes around and holding one arm with the other.

"Marie must have roped you into keeping her company today, she does get a bit lonely now that she isn't teaching" Stein said, standing up and packing his briefcase for class. Crona moved slightly further from him, moving to sit on the couch. She had to push a few baby blankets and toys over to make a space. She didn't nod or agree. She still didn't like the gear in Steins head and avoided looking at it when possible.

"Well, I thank you for helping her" Stein acknowledged.

"Stein, will you let Maka know that Crona is here today?" Marie asked from the kitchen. Stein agreed. Crona peered around the corner as he watched Stein hug Marie from behind as he said goodbye. They stood in front of the sink as Marie bathed Damien. He rubbed the top of his sons head gently as the baby reached for his father clumsily.

It was rare to see Stein show affection in moments like that, so Crona quickly ducked back to her seat on the couch.

"Take good care of them" Stein waved as he walked past her and out the door to his class.

Crona sat on the couch in silence as she waited for Ms. Marie to come back out. She eventually emerged with Damien wrapped in a towel, wet from his bath. She also handed Crona a small cup of warm tea that she promised would improve her headache and upset stomach. She dried the baby as she sat next to Crona, sitting on many baby toys in the process.

"Sorry about that, someone needed a bath though" Marie said, looking at her son who was chewing on his hand.

"What do you need help with today?" Crona asked, sipping from her glass and trying to figure out why she was there.

Marie thought for a moment. She didn't exactly need too much help, but it was nice to have some company that can actually talk back.

"Well just a few things around the house" she said "but we can wait until that tea gets you back up and running"

After the baby was dried and back into his clothes, he sat on the floor trying to use the table to stand. Crona and Marie began to clean up the living room from the many books and toys.

Crona went to the kitchen to do dishes and sweep while Marie dusted and vacuumed the living room around her son. Crona quickly finished washing and drying and came out to see the living room looking much better and the baby had fallen asleep to the sound of the vacuum, which struck Crona as odd. He slept on the floor, on a blanket.

"Everything looks great!" Marie said in a slight whisper, switching off the vacuum.

"If I can get one more favor, can you just sit with him while he naps. I kinda want to shower before he wakes up" Marie asked sheepishly. Crona agreed reluctantly "Great, he shouldn't wake up but if he does just come and knock on the door and I'll grab him".

Marie quickly headed off to her shower. Crona sat, drinking the rest of her tea and feeling much better. Whatever was in that tea was a miracle drink. She watched Damien's tiny body rise and fall with each breath as the pacifier in his mouth moved slightly. Apparently, he was a very well behaved baby according to Tsubaki. Crona did not know what to do when she heard children scream or cry. She was very relieved that he did not do that very often.

Crona heared the water from Marie's shower fainted continue. She looked in her direction and then back at the sleeping boy, then stood up and knelt of the floor next to him.

Curiosity consumed her as she looked at him. She had very little experience with babies and children and it was all very confusing. His tiny hands were balled into fists as he slept on his belly. She looked at his smooth skin, he looked like he was completely relaxed. She lightly touched her finger to the back of his hand. She wished he could speak.

As she sat on her knees, she looked up from the sleeping baby and noticed the pictures scattered on the walls. Several were just Marie and Stein, but newer once had appeared with all three family members in it. Every photo looking happier than the last. Seeing the pictures made Crona long for ones of her own. She wanted pictures of her with Maka and Soul. She wanted one with her and Tsubaki and Liz and Patty. She even considered a photo with her and her own baby but quickly brushed that aside.

"Oh, that picture is us on vacation" Marie said, nearly scaring Crona to death. She had a robe on and a towel wrapped around her head.

"I didn't k-know you were back" Crona said, blushing.

"Yep, even just a quick shower when you're a mother seems like forever" she said, peering down to check on her son sleeping soundly.

"Did...you always know you wanted a baby?" Crona asked with her curiosity getting the best of her. Marie thought for a moment.

"No, I guess I didn't. I knew I wanted to be married. The idea of spending my life with someone was my top goal even as a little girl" Marie admitted. "Why do you ask?"

"I was just wondering when you knew... that you and Stein were going to be together" Crona asked, unsure of what to narrow her question down to. Marie sat back down by the coffee table.

"I guess...after being with him for so long it just kind of happened. When you're around someone and are fighting for the same thing, it's very easy to see the best in them even if there is bad too" she tried to explain. Crona wondered if she had too much bad for anyone to see the good.

"Maka and Soul are like that. Even if they fight, they still...never drift" Crona connected. Marie nodded, trying to figure out where Crona was headed with her line of questioning.

"What happens to those who don't find someone. If there is no other half?" Crona asked, sudden urgency in her voice.

"I used to wonder that same thing. I thought I would never find happiness. But I will tell you this: it happens when you're not looking" Marie advised "Besides, you're young. You don't need to worry about families, babies, or marriage yet".

Crona nodded. She thought about her movies. When a couple found love, it was like nothing else mattered in the world. That was a great feeling when you're in the relationship, but Crona was never in. She was always outside looking in. She didn't want to be cast aside when they were done with her. She wanted things to stay the same.

"I-I don't know if I want those things. I'm just- I want to understand them" Crona admitted "I want Maka to be happy. But I don't want them to be done with me when they start their own life" Crona explained, her voice becoming slightly shaky as she discussed her fears. Marie pulled her in for a small hug.

"No matter what happens, you will never be left alone Crona" Marie assured. "You have so many people who care about you".

Crona wiped a tear from her eye, just talking about it made it feel like a storm of emotion. Once it was all out though, Crona felt slight relief.

"Thank you Ms. Marie" Crona said. She looked at the clock and noticed Maka's class would soon be out, so she said her goodbyes.

"Come back anytime, it's just me and Da-" Marie tried before her sons sudden crying interrupted. Crona gave a small smile as she watched Marie rush back in the house to comfort him. She was an excellent mother. Crona went back home to lay in her bed until Maka came back. She took a short nap to sleep of the rest of last night, then she heard the front door open.

Crona stretched and walked out of her room to see Maka sitting at the table, writing something down.

"There you are!" Maka said, Crona was unsure if it was surprise or anger in her voice.

"Sorry, I stayed with Liz and Patty and wound up sleeping over" Crona tried to explain quickly so Maka wouldn't be angry with her. Maka scoffed.

"I'm not mad Crona, I was just worried. I figured you stayed and Stein told me this morning that you were okay" she said "Just let me know so I don't think something happened to you".

"Why don't you ground her too, since you're already acting like a mom?" Soul shouted from the bathroom. Maka frowned.

"Anyway, I'm glad you had a good time. Want to see my new arrangements for the wedding?" Maka asked. Crona nodded, happy that the wedding distracted her from further anger. She took a seat at the table.

"Okay, so when we walk in, Soul and I will stand here" she said pointing at a crude map she had drawn "followed by Tsubaki and Black Star, and then I changed the order a little..."

Crona looked over the paper to read the name next to hers.

_Crona and Kid, _It read with lines drawn to where they would stand.

"I thought I was with Ox" Crona asked. Maka bobbed her head back and forth.

"Well originally yeah, Kid thought it would be more symmetrical. But then he asked if he could switch and now Ox is with Patty" Maka explained. Crona's heart began to race as she tried to think of ways to get it changed back.

"You guys will just have to walk, sit next to each other, and there is some dancing..." Maka eased, trying not to make it seem like a big deal.

"Why would he want to change? I-I don't think I should even be walking. Maybe Kim would want to" Crona said nervously. Her hands on the table as she looked back at the paper.

"Crona, I thought you liked the dress" Maka asked, confused. She was begging to worry that Crona would back out.

"I do" Crona responded, not wanting to hurt her friends feelings.

"These are all your friends too, so there's nothing to worry about"

"I-I can't dance, it would just be weird and I wouldn't know what to do" Crona protested, beginning to hyperventilate and she shook her head repeatedly. She stood up to pace around the kitchen, unable to sit still.

"I thought you would be more comfortable with Kid anyway..." Maka said, raising her eyebrows. Crona began to breathe evenly to calm herself.

"...I am" Crona admitted quietly. Maka looked up at her, unsure of what the problem was.

"He said he wanted to meet up with you before the rehearsal so he could make sure you weren't so nervous" Maka said "He wanted to make sure you were totally comfortable" she said, writing down more notes in her book.

Crona looked over at her friends sitting at the table.

"When..when did he say that?" Crona asked.

"Right after the fitting. He was the one who suggested switching the order" Maka informed. Crona's heartbeat didn't slow, she wasn't sure if it was from nervousness or excitement. "He also said you weren't feeling well last night, so if you felt better tomorrow he would like to meet up".

Crona's head began to feel as if it was light as air.

"Um...I could do that" Crona agreed, Maka looked up surprised. She beamed at how much Crona had made an attempt in the last few days. She had hung out with several of her friends without needing Maka as a support.

"I'll let him know you'll be ready" Maka said smiling.

* * *

**This one was a little shorter, but the next chapter will be up shortly.**

**Thanks for reading!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6-**

The next day Crona stood outside nervously looking around the street as she waited. She quietly waited by herself in front of the apartment. With each person passing by her anxiety increased. She fidgited and moved back and forth as she thought about going back in and pretending to be sick.

The night before, Maka had let Kid know that Crona had agreed to go out with him today. It made her scared to even hear her name with the phrase 'go out' in the same sentence. While she was excited, it was also making her sick thinking about it.

_What did Kid want to do? Eat? Go to a dance club? What kind of activities does he even like?_

Crona cringed at the idea of going to one of the night clubs Liz had told her about. Loud music and claustrophobia inducing closeness were enough to give her a headache just thinking about it. She couldn't picture Kid enjoying it either. It eased her worry for a moment, thinking about him standing the crowded room with everyone dancing around him while he wore his usual serious expression while the lights flashed along with the music.

Her heart skipped a beat as she saw a boy with black hair round the corner. It wasn't him. The anticipation ate away at her, making her decide she would go inside for refuge. As she walked quickly to the door, attempting to cave in on her plans, Maka met her. Standing in the doorway, Maka shooed her friend back out.

"You can't just run in and hide! He'll be here any minute" Maka argued, putting her hands on Cronas shoulders and steering her back to her waiting spot.

"I wasn't trying to be mean" Crona said quietly, wishing Maka wasn't so persistent.

"I can wait out here with you if you want" Maka offered. Crona nodded happily. They stood outside together, necks turning with every person they saw walk by.

"What-What if he decides he doesn't want to go?" Crona asked, letting her nerves get the best of her. Maka lightly turned her gaze to look at her friend.

"He's the one who asked you to go, wasn't he?" Maka asked, trying to help Crona see the obvious. Crona shook her head.

"No, I mean what if after this, he decides he doesn't...like me" Crona asked. Maka had a hard time seeing why Crona was so nervous. Growing up with such a head strong mother and confident father, she never had a problem telling anyone how she felt. Boys included.

"Of course he'll still like you, all of our friends like you, Crona" Maka said reassuring. Crona was happy that Maka was so used to reassuring her, that she saw nothing out of the ordinary with Crona's thoughts. She still hadn't fully grasped the gravity of Crona's feelings. Maka thought Crona was just worried about a closer friendship, which was part of it. Maka's eyes veered from the eye contact she held with Crona, to something to the side of her as her face lit up.

"He's here!" Maka hissed in a loud whisper, which put Crona back on edge. Maka was ecstatic that Crona was going out with another friend one on one. She felt like a mother sending her child off to school for the first time.

"What do I do?" Crona asked, her normally drone voice dripping with worry. Maka looked at Crona skeptically.

"Well, wait for him to come up here then you guys go. If theres a problem just ask to borrow Kid's phone or have him call me" Maka chirped. As Kid walked closer, keeping perffectly in the center of the side walk as he approached, Maka gave a quick wave and left Crona outside. Crona stared at her feet, shuffling and pulling at the ends of her dress as she heard his footsteps approach.

"Good morning" Kid greeted, looking at her with his piercing gold eyes. She quickly shifted her gaze anywhere else.

"Hi, good morning"

"Are you ready to get going? I hope you haven't been waiting long" Kid asked, proper as ever. Crona shook her head in response, then became flustered that he would take that as the answer to his initial question. She took a few quick steps toward him to signal she was ready to leave. As the two of them walked back on the side walk, Crona looked up in the window of the apartment to see Maka give an assuring wave. Crona slightly raised her had as she and Kid walked away.

"Are you hungry? We can get breakfast if you like" Kid offered as they walked by several cafes. Crona had been too nervous to eat earlier, but she still declined. Kid scanned his thoughts, thinking of options that Crona would enjoy.

"Here, we'll go this way" he said, leading her across a street and changing directions. As they walked, the busy streets became less crowded and the buildings of the city were left in the distance. The couple approached a small quiet park. Crona held her arms to herself as they walked along the stone path. Tall trees created a boarder that stretched upwards for hundreds of feet. They passed a small childrens playground, which had a handful of kids running, playing, and swinging. A large colorful metal and plastic structure stood between the trees while the children crawled all around and over it like ants.

Crona looked on, watching a child who had fallen off a swing begin to cry. A nearby mother quickly came over to console her child and made him stop crying within minutes. Kid followed her gaze as her noticed her longing look. He knew she had a hard time thinking about her mother and past in general. Instant regret hit him as he felt responsible for leading Crona past the scene.

"We're going to a place a little further up" Kid informed, trying to regain Crona's attention. After leaving the playground behind, Crona looked and saw a glimmer of water out in the distance. The walkway they were on soon ran along side a river, the sound of water began to wash away Crona's nervous thoughts.

Further on, the river emptied into a large lake. Kid led her out into a clearing where there was a patch of grass with a bench. On the other side of the lake, Crona could see several men fishing as they enjoyed the fair weather. The environment gave of a feeling of pure tranquility as she walked up to sit on the bench. Looking out at the water, a swan and her ducklings noticed Crona and furthered their distance.

"Watch out for those" Kid warned "Birds like that can be very nasty. Especially with if they have their young with them"

Kid sat in the other end of the bench, being sure to give Crona her space. The distant sound of birds chirping floated through the air. It was nice to see such a lush forest hidden in the city, especially since Death City was surronded by mostly desert.

"Maka told me that Black Star was attacked by a goose once" Crona added, feeling awkward that they had hardly spoken the entire walk.

"He did, Tsubaki wanted to feed them but he began throwing loaves of bread at the birds which made them angry" Kid recalled, chuckling as he remembered. Crona let out a small giggle, then quickly silenced herself. She began to wrack her brain for anything else she could talk to him about. Anything was better than silence. They _had _come out today to get to know each other better.

"Are- uh birds your favorite?" she asked unnaturally, wincing when she realized how odd her question sounded. Kid shook his head.

"No, while I do think they are beautiful, birds are foul creatures" Kid said, looking out at the water. Crona was a little surprised. She figured he had brought her to this lake so there must be something he enjoyed about it.

"Um, yeah birds are weird..." Crona agreed, trying to make herself more likable. The next moment of silence was quickly interrupted by another couple on the walk way. A boy and girl were walking hand in hand until the girl began to run and hide behind the trees as they boy chased her, causing her to laugh and tease him as she ran.

Crona slightly faced toward them and watched them carry on out of the corner of her eye. She watched the boy pick her up and playfully carry her to the water as she laughed and pleaded. The two immediately became wet and went back on the path to calm back down as she kiss the boy.

Crona's brow furrowed as she watched them pass by and walk away. How could they be so...comfortable?

Here she was, hardly able to make conversation with Kid and yet all other couples made it look like it was the easiest thing in the world.

_Am I stupid? Am I supposed to run around and laugh at everything? Why is this so hard? _Crona wondered as her anxiousness boiled over. She suddenly stood up causing Kid to look to see what was wrong.

"I-I think I should go" she excused herself before walking away in a hurry, not able to look at Kid.

"Hey, wait! What do you mean?" Kid shouted, quickly running to catch up with her sudden departure. She didn't turn around to offer an explanation, she felt frustrated and needed to go back home. She could feel Ragnarok begin to stir which added more urgency to her need to leave. She almost shrieked when she felt a hand on her forearm.

Crona spun to see Kid holding on to her.

"I said what's wrong?" Kid asked again, slightly winded from the sudden chase. Before she could answer, Ragnarok emerged and wasted no time noticing that someone had their hands on his meister.

**"HANDS OFF!" **Ragnarok shouted, causing Crona's arm to release a small patch of bloody needles, just large enough to stab Kid's hand. As the black spikes made him jerk away, he looked at Crona. She saw a small trickle of blood drip from his hand.

"What's wrong?" Kid repeated, ignoring his small wound "You're leaving?"

"I'm sorry, I just don't think this is a good idea" Crona tried to explain quickly. She didn't want Ragnarok to try to hurt him anymore.

"Are you having a bad time? We can go somewhere else" Kid offered, trying to figure out what he had done to upset her.

**"She said she isn't going with you, mop head!" **Ragnarok taunted, shaking his small fist at his as he perched on Crona's head.

"It's just, I can't do this. I can't be normal" Crona said loudly, trying to take steps away to keep her distance.

"What are you talking about? We're having a good time, we just go here" Kid said. Ragnarok was getting angry that Kid was not listening or even looking at him.

**"Maybe she's not having a good time, ever think of that?" **Ragnarok mocked. Crona looked at him diapprovingly.

"No, I _am _having a good time" Crona argued.

"Then stay" Kid asked "I wanted to come out here with you. It doesn't matter if we contantly talk or we don't. I just want you to be yourself. I want you to feel comfortable around me"

Crona stopped walking as his words hit her.

It had never occurred to her that maybe he was okay with her being quiet or keeping to herself. He knew her mannerisms and was okay with them. Guilt hit her like a brick wall for making a scene and trying to run from him.

"You don't even like it here, why did you pick this spot?" Crona asked, quizzing him.

"Because I figured you wanted somewhere relaxed and secluded" Kid answered "Is this because I don't like birds?" he half joked.

**"What an idiot, come on Crona let's go home" **Ragnarok ordered. Crona ignored him and began taking a step back toward Kid, using a tree to hide the rest of her as he neared.

"I actually do like birds" Crona admitted, feeling foolish.

"I just don't see why they can't make their nests symmetrical, its not that hard" Kid admitted, the sound of joking completely absent. Crona smiled realizing that Kid was kind of odd too.

Kid approached the tree Crona stood behind. She held her hand lightly to the side of the trunk as Kid rested on the other side.

"We can feed ducks if you'd like" Kid offered, trying to coax her out. He offered his hand.

**"Get me near one of those things and I'll eat it" **Ragnarok threatened snidely. Crona shot a glare at him. She looked back at Kid and his hurt hand, feeling awful.

"I'd like to feed one" Crona agreed. She put her hand in his as Ragnarok threw a tantrum. They went to a small dock and Kid found a woman selling bread and bought Crona a loaf to feed the ducks.

Even though the idea of germs disgusted him, he would not return home to disinfect his wound. He refused to cut their day short. Crona convinced him to at least rinse his wound in a nearby fresh water fountain until they could seek better care for it.

As he held his hand over the fountain, letting the cool water flow onto it, Crona took a small napkin from the pocket of his suit and wrapped it around as a make-shift bandage.

They stood near the railing, with dozens of ducks below. Kid broke off a piece and threw it in, Crona watched in delight as the ducks scrambled for it, gobbling it to crumbs that floated away. Kid threw more when he noticed Crona enjoyed seeing the ducks swim and dive. After stealing several pieces before Crona managed to throw any on her own, Raganrok grew bored and retreated.

Once they ran out of food for the ducks, they walked back through the park and toward the town. Crona walked into a small shop to purchase some antibiotics and bandages for Kid's had which had stopped bleeding. Kid took time to show and tell Crona about different historical sites around the town that she never knew about. He took her to a small museum which described many of the supernatural things that Death City's history had undergone. Crona loved to see Kid's eyes light up as he spoke about the battles his father fought and how he had managed to keep Death City intact for centuries.

The two talked for hours as they walked and observed the city, it was not the stale awkward talk from before. They touched on almost everything except family, which was a tough subject for both of them. The two entered a small eatery as the day faded into the evening. Crona noticed the many skulls that adorned the walls and woodwork of the buzzing restaurant. She looked at them and looked at kid, who was looking over what food he wanted.

"So, you're the next shinigami, right?" Crona asked, unfolding her menu. Waiters and waitresses walked by frequently to serve their other tables or patrons.

"Yes, my father doesn't have much time left so I'm learning all I can from him right now" Kid replied, sipping his water. He hated thinking about his father not being around, but he had come to learn the cold truth. There is a cycle and it must happen. A new leader will rise and take the place of Lord Death, his son will be that leader.

Crona felt a little funny bringing it up.

"You'll do a great job too" Crona assured. She respected Kid's father, even though he had ordered her to be executed for regressing and working for Medusa after betraying the academy. He had given Crona another chance and that was all she could ever ask for.

"What do you think you're getting?" Kid asked, changing the subject. He hated thinking about work during his down time. The waitress came by and took their order.

Crona looked out the window, thinking about how busy her day had been. It was a big leap not depending on Maka every waking minute. Today gave Crona hope that she could stand on her own.

"What do you think you'll do after?" Kid asked out of the blue.

"Huh?"

"After the wedding, Liz and Patty said you were unsure of your living situation" Kid asked bluntly. Crona was a little taken back by his sudden questioning and almost wondered if he could read her mind.

"Well...I don't know" Crona admitted, dropping her hands to her sides "Ms. Marie said I could stay with her if I needed, but I don't want to intrude and I'm not good with babies"

Kid nodded looking as though he was in deep thought, Crona wasn't sure if that meant he agreed that she had no maternal instincts or if he was just listening.

Their food was quickly delivered and set in front of them. Kid politely set a napkin on his lap before he began to eat, while Crona waited for her pasta to cool.

"I have extra rooms if you ever needed one" Kid offered quietly. Crona looked up from her food in surprise.

"What?" she asked, wondering if she misheard.

"You must have an issue with being confused a lot" he joked "I said, if you need a room there are plenty at my house. The girls would love to have you"

Crona felt her heart rise and fall. The prospect of an invitation to live with him brought her up while his reasoning brought her down slightly. She would prefer if he would be the one who loved to have her.

The two finished their meals and Kid paid and tipped their waitress before the two headed back for the night. Walking side by side on the way back to her house, Crona looked at Kid's hand and yearned to hold it and be like one of the couples from the park or the movies.

She could picture it now: a clear starry night, a young couple walks hand in hand as they only have eyes for eachother. But that was just a day dream. Crona had no idea where they stood. They seemed close, but was it just her imagination? Had she not known niceness for so long that the smallest gesture could be mistake for something more? Should she try something?

Would he try anything?

The sun slowly set as they neared Crona's apartment. The street lights began to pop on one by one as families headed home and the night crowd emerged. Crona felt the end of their day approaching and felt she had to see what this meant. If they were friends or more.

"I had a good time with you" Crona said quietly, climbing one of the steps to the apartment. Shadows carried across her face as a near by light pole illuminated bits and pieces of the two.

"Good, I'm relieved" Kid said, melodic in his voice. He took a step up along with her, not leaving her side.

"Are we going to go out again?" Crona asked with a hint of hope in her voice. Kid smiled, looking into her eyes. She rested her hand on the black metal hand rail near the door. "I'm sorry about your hand" she added sadly.

"I would like that" he replied, gently placing his bandaged hand on top of hers. The moment their skin made contact Crona felt her heart begin to beat like a drum. Maka said that when she first met Soul, she knew something was there. She said it was 'electric'. What Crona felt didn't feel like a volt going through her. It felt like pure warmth radiating from her core. Even though she wasn't enveloped in his embrace, it felt like it.

She moved her gaze from his hand to his eyes. Kid was standing on the same step as her and looking intently at her face like he was carefully searching for something with his eyes.

Time stood still for a moment and Crona felt like she was holding her breath. Moments felt like an eternity, then Kid quickly leaned in and brushed his lips softly against her cheek. Her face lit up in a blaze. As he slowly pulled away, she wished the moment would last longer. His body was still close to her as she instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck and held herself against him.

Crona was never the type to give in to an emotional urge like that, but she had the overwhelming feeling that she had to be near him for a few moments longer.

She could feel the warmth of his chest against hers, even through their clothes. She felt his strong arms wrap around her waist to reciprocate her embrace. In that moment, she felt complete. Her life could be spent there, in the safety of his hold. She rested her head lightly on his shoulder as they stood in the doorway of her home.

Kid held her as long as she wanted, not objecting. Her small frame fit perfectly in his arms as he looked down at her face nuzzled into his torso. He loosened his hold on her as he moved his forehead to rest on hers, raising his hand and cupping her chin to gently move it upward to meet his gaze.

"I look forward to walking with you at the wedding, if you are okay with that" Kid asked carefully. He knew what he wanted, but he would never push Crona into something she was unsure of. A grin spread across Crona's face, he had never seen her smile so radiantly.

"I am" she said simply. Kid slowly broke off the embrace, moving his hands from her back down to her hands. Crona's smile slightly faded as she felt him pull away. She didn't want him to leave, as childish as it felt. She looked at her hands held in his and lightly swung one.

"Will you be back?" Crona asked sadly, looking up at him. The idea of him leaving hurt her more than she expected. It was like being locked in her dark room with no source of light all over again. It always made it worse to see how great the light is, before being sent back into the dark.

"Of course" he replied. She gave a small smile as she looked away from him toward the ground, removing one of her hands from his so she could brush a strand of hair out of her face. Kid raised her remaining hand to his lips and gave a soft kiss before he severed their contact and took step down to head back to his home.

Watching him walk away, she felt a part of her leave with him. Her eyes followed him until he was out of sight before she faced and opened the door to go inside.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

The night before had left Crona sleepless. No dream could trump what she had lived. She found herself exchanging her usual blank expression for a smile for the whole morning as she did dishes before her friends woke up.

Her even vibe of happiness must have been enough to keep Raganarok away because he did not bother her the whole night. He claimed that seeing her in such a state made him physically ill. Crona dipped her hands in the hot bubbling water as she reached for another plate that someone had left. The culprit most likely being Soul.

The sound of the water flowing and the dishes clinking together were lost to her ears as she focused on other things. Drifting off had always been one of Cronas favorite hobbies. While with her mother, there was nothing in life that needed to be thought about so she would stay in her mind. It was a fantastic change that her mind had become a much more hospitable place to be.

It was strange, she had never craved physical contact in such a way as she did now. Just the idea of dancing with Kid was enough to sustain her for a life time.

"Damn Crona, are you smashing the dishes?" Soul yawned, sneaking up on her during her day dream. Crona blushed, not understanding his jab at first.

"I'm sorry...was I being too loud?" She asked, feeling immediate guilt for being loud and waking him.

"I'm just kidding. Well I mean, it is loud but I had to be up anyway" Soul said, pulling the fridge open to grab orange juice to help him wake up. Crona wondered why he had to be awake, but didn't ask. She rinsed several plates and a bowl then set them in the rack to dry.

Crona gave no response as she reached her hand to the bottom of the sink to pull the plug and drain the sudsy water. After patting her hands dry, she began to dry the dishes and try to put them away so she wouldn't have to stand uncomfortably in the kitchen. After several moments, she was actually beginning to feel a little more comfortable and almost forgot Soul was even there.

"So, did you guys make out or something?" Soul asked, nearly causing a glass to tumble out of Crona's hands. She scrambled to catch it from falling to the floor and suddenly felt very hot and ill. Several long strands of pink hair swung in front of her eyes from her sudden lunge to catch the cup.

"What?" Crona asked, almost sounded offensive. _'Why would he ask that?!' _

"Calm down, I'm just messing with you" Soul scoffed. He could see Crona become frazzled and he didn't like to see people so over emotional. Crona's face didn't cool down at his suggestion. Instead she just set the glass back on the counter and looked at the floor by his feet.

She liked Soul, but he was a very different personality. He seemed to not care about much of anything, while Crona had constant anxiety on all matters of her life. It bothered her that someone could live without worry or care. But she did envy how calm he seemed. Even during the many fights Crona had witnessed between Maka and Soul, he never lost his cool. Sure, he would tease and yell back, but he never said something he didn't mean. He seemed to balance Maka.

"No I didn't...do that" Crona said with her voice catching. Soul smirked, he didn't take great pleasure in teasing Crona but it was fun when she tried to snap back. He felt the need to press further.

"Do you want to?" he chuckled, trying to lean over to see what her expression was as she faced the other way. Crona was more embarassed. A small kiss on the hand was enough last night, but did she want to go further?'

"Leave Crona alone Soul!" Maka ordered in a shrill voice. Soul's grin changed into a frown due to his fun being ended so soon. Maka was slightly more presentable than Soul was, her hair was pulled neatly back but she remained in a tank top and pajama pants.

"What? I'm just trying to help" he said, sipping his orange juice.

"How is teasing helping?" Maka asked, putting her hands on her hips like a child. Crona was glad Maka stepped in, but felt like she shouldn't have to constantly rely on Maka for defense.

"Did you two do that?" Crona asked, causing Maka to stay still for a moment.

"Do...what? Maka asked, unsure of the question. It was unusual for Crona to speak up and question anything. Soul's face formed into a big grin, showcasing his oddly pointed teeth.

"She wants to know if we made out" Soul grinned, watching Crona become increasingly embarased at the subject she had stepped in to. Crona's light eyes bounced from Soul to Maka, wondering who would answer the question she almost wish she hadn't asked. Maka leaned backing a little. It wasn't so normal to ask questions like that directly. It was assumed that like any other couple, of course they had their share of _intimate _moments, but no one had ever asked. Maka quickly forced herself to remember that Crona was like normal people who had knowledge of how loving relationship were supposed to form and work.

"Well, yeah we made out" Maka answered as simply as possible.

"Among other things" Soul murmmered while taking a sip from his glass. Maka frowned and resisted the urge to slap him so early in the morning. She looked at Crona, who looked slightly curious at what he meant by his comment. Maka brought her hand to her forehead as she rested her elbow on the small table. She did not volunteer to be a sex ed teacher this early in the morning.

Crona was satisfied with her friend's answer and didn't want to pry or ask additional questions, so she gave a small nod. Soul on the other hand loved so see his fiance so embarassed, so he decided to push the conversation further.

"So, did Kid try to kiss you last night?" he asked, looking at her then Maka to see a reaction. Crona blushed deeply while Maka stood to grab cereal from the cupboard.

"Well...yes" Crona answered, causing Maka to snap slightly.

Her hand quickly ripped the cereal box down as she shrieked "What?!" looking at Crona for answers. Crona didn't know that she would be so angry and began to nervously avoid eye contact and shy away.

"He kissed you?! Did he even ask you if you wanted to?! He didn't try anything else did he?" Maka asked angrily as she tossed her cereal box onto the counter, causing it to topple over and almost knock over everything else on the table. She held a dominating stance next to Crona as she grilled her for answers.

"Anything else...? No, he just...uh...on the hand" Crona tried to explain quickly to avoid Maka's anger. Even from Maka, she was terrified when anyone directed anger at her.

"Maka, calm down" Soul demanded, slightly raising his clam voice while picking up the spilled items on the table. Maka realised she had overreacted and looked at the terrified expression on Crona's face as she stood in an almost cowering position to Maka's shorter stature. It was just a kiss on the hand, now she understood Crona wouldn't know to differentiate between any kind of kiss.

"Oh my god, I'm sorry Crona. I just, it's just I want to make sure no one is taking advantage of you...I didn't mean to fly off like that" Maka apologoised, embarassed for her behavior. Crona slightly straightened up although she couldn't turn off the slight fear that always accompanied the shouting her mother did.

"Maka, you know Kid. You know he's a good guy." Soul pointed out, still irritated at the mess she had created from her outburst "You're not her mom you know..." he said, cutting off the end of his own sentence as he realised his words. Maka looked at him then back at Crona, hoping she had not been offended by his accidential comment. The words had drifted right past her ears she she stared into the floor quietly. As a defense mechanism, if Medusa or Ragnarok had abused her to a point, she would shut down. She wouldn't not respond, not due to choice but because she learned to stop listening or reacting for her own mental safety.

Even though she knew she was among friends, she could not turn off reactions that had been formed throughout her whole life. Being in a better enviorment didn't change the fact that she had grown up learning how to cope with living in abusive situations. The numb feeling and silence had captured Ragnarok's attention.

**"What did you do now, you big mouth?!" **Ragnarok demanded. For as much as he loved to pick on Crona, he was a part of her and experienced the same emotions she did. He just had a different way of handling them.

"I overreacted, I'm sorry Crona"

**"She'll be fine, she just does this crap sometimes" **Ragnarok said, tapping the side of Crona's head with his small fist which gave no reaction from her as she stood motionless by the sink.

Maka still felt horrible for causing her friend to revert back to her old ways of coping. She was used to people like Black Star who would just shout back or defend themselves. Even though Crona had now lived with them for several months, she and Soul still slipped up on things they shouldn't say.

Crona stayed in her trance like quietness for several minutes. Ragnarok shouted at Maka to make some pasta for him and Crona, even if it wasn't a breakfast food. Maka oblidged and once the food was on the table, Ragnaroks hunger was enough to force Crona to move and begin to slowly make eye contact again.

Maka poured herself cereal as Crona began to slowly eat. Soul silently left to go shower and get dressed while the other three ate.

"I'm sorry Crona, really. It just worries me and it's hard to...deal with. I am happy you come to me for any questions about Soul and I and I won't ovverreact again" Maka apologised repeatedly.

**"Okay, shut up. We get it. Let us eat" **Ragnarok said, annoyed at her fourth apology. He had his own large plate of pasta that he shoveled into his bottomless stomach.

"I know Kid is a good guy and I couldn't ask for someone better for you. I know he will treat you good and-"

**"Are you assuring Crona or yourself, you dumb pig?" **Ragnarok asked rudely, trying to get her to be quiet.

"Don't be mean, Ragnaok" Crona said softly. She enjoyed the praise that Maka was giving Kid.

Maka smiled that Crona had finally given a reasponse.

"Maka, I'm sorry for butting in to your personal life and asking questions" Crona said "It's just that Liz said this was the kind of thing that girls talked about all the time"

"Don't be sorry. I'm glad you do. It's just that you're like a little sister to me and I want to make sure nothing bad happens to you" Maka explained.

"I know" Crona assured. Maka was her best friend but Crona was beginning to have second thoughts about what she could talk to her about. Crona understood that her friend just wanted to protect her, but it was confusing that shouting was her method of trying to accomplish that. While the Thompson sisters were rowdy and over the top, they did provide the type of personalities that would break Crona out of her shell.

For some reason, she felt guilty for feeling so close to the Thompson sisters. Maka was the first one of the group to break through to her, but Liz and Patty had much in common with Crona. Especially their upbringing or learning how to fend for themselves.

"So the wedding coming up and we have a lot to do this week. You can come with us to straighten out some last minute issues with the DJ and the food if you want" Maka offered. Crona could see that the stress was beginning to eat away at Maka. No test had ever been as nerve-wracking to prepare for.

Crona agreed to go and the two quickly cleaned up and left. Their destination was a considerable distance so they took a small trolley. Crona preferred walking to almost all transportation because it wasn't as crowded as a bus or trolley. While walking, she was able to give herself some much needed distance. During her bumpy ride, she tried her best to not bump into anyone and would quickly move or reposition so others wouldn't touch her.

Luckily, the cables and tracks were set up in an optimal route that made their trip short and bearable.

Crona followed her friend as they approached a large building that had several vans parked in front of it which displayed company names of the DJ and various caterers. The two would be married at a seperate location. The reception would be held in the building they were entering. The outside was very lavish, with an awning that would give cover to the guests as they entered. it had ample room for all the guests to pull up and have a valet park their vehicle.

The place looked very empty without its guests.

"Don't worry, this will look spectacular when the actual night is here" Maka assured, reading Cronas face. Maka pulled the large wooden door open by its antique gold-colored handle and waved Crona in first. The hall looked even nicer inside, a gleaming glass light fixture gave a dim source of light as they walked from the entrance to the large banquet hall.

The floor changed from the exquisite patterned carpet, to hardwood floor as they entered the hall to see dozens of workers setting up sound equiptment, setting up tables, and wall decorations. People stood on ladders to hang red colored fabric to create flowing curtain wall orniments. Two diffrent women approached Maka, immediately recognizing their client; the bride to be.

"Miss Albarn, where exactly did you want the sub-woofers to be placed? It may create too much bass and clutter near the dance floor" one woman said, Crona had already begun to fade out as another man stood next to them holding two napkins that were different shades of red, preparing to ask an opinion. Maka noticed Crona's lack of enthusiasum.

"You can sit and take a break if you want, Crona" Maka offered, feeling slightly guilty she had dragged her bashful friend along.

"I...can help you with something" Crona said, wanting to feel useful instead of just being a stationary object. Like a chair.

Maka quickly came up with a simple task where Crona could work on her own: folding the silverware into the color coordinated napkins. Two men brought over boxes of the fabric and the untinsiles then they all left Crona to do her work as they went back to their own tasks.

Even though the repeated folding and unfolding seemed boring, Crona loved this type of work. Busy work did not require much thought and soon became automatic as she let her mind drift off. People bustled around in the background, but nobody approached or bothered her. Whenever the cases neared being empty, another worker would come and give her another hundred to fold. Maka must have informed the staff to bring her boxes, knowing that she wouldn't approach someone to ask.

Four boxes later, Crona began to question how big of an event this was.

"Hi Crona"

Crona looked up from her black and red napkin sets to see Tsubaki carrying a case of orb lanterns. For some reason, Tsubaki had a calm enough voice that even when she snuck up on Crona, she did not frighten her.

"Oh, hi" Crona replied, slowly returning her hands to fold again. Over, under, tuck, and stack.

"I see you're keeping busy" she noted sweetly. Crona nodded, not looking up. Tsubaki smiled, she could tell Crona was slightly more comfortable than normal. "Okay, well when you're done you can come help me if you'd like. Maka called and sounded a little overwhelmed so I think the whole group is coming down to pick up the slack".

Crona's eagerly looked up. _Whole group. _That meant that Kid would show up.

"Don't worry Crona! I see you're wondering where I am, but everything is alright because the star is already here!" Black Star yelled as he ran up next to Tsubaki. Crona gave the best fake smile she could to counter his beaming pride. Crona heard one crew worker groan loudly as she walked by.

Tsubaki excused herself as she and Black Star headed to further table to set up decorations. After Black Star ripped holes in several of the red paper lanterns, Tsubaki made him switch jobs and she assembled them then handed them to Black Star to hang on the ceiling. Even after almost tipping the ladder, Black Star would not give up his second job.

The room took a more festive form as everyone worked on. After a while, Crona finished right as Liz and Patty walked in. Kid was not with them. They greeted Crona excitedly.

"Hiya!" Patty said, waving excitedly. Liz stood with her hands on her hips, looking around.

"This place is looking better and better" she commented "Kid definatly picks a good venue"

Crona should have guessed by its symmetry that he had hand selected this place. He would not approve of Black Star's asymetrical lantern placing.

"Oh look! The dance floor is huge!" Patty gushed, pulling at her taller sisters arm.

"Gunna be an open bar too.." Liz murmerd. Maka noticed the sisters had arrived and quickly ran over to ask their help.

"Hey can you guys put some table clothes on the tables? They're over in the white boxes" Maka said, pointing near the door way to the unpacked items.

Suddenly a loud screech tore at everyone's ears as the speaker system produced feedback. Everyone covered their ears and shouted in protest, except Crona. This screeching was nothing compared to what she and Ragnarok could do. Liz gave an irritated look at the DJ.

"How 'bout I go help him?" she offered "Maybe I can actually show him what good music is supposed to sound like"

"Oooh, yeah! I have a really good playlist that would be perfect for dancing!" Patty exclaimed. Maka nodded, letting the girls go stop the horrible sounds. Crona agreed to pick up table cloth duty. She alternated colors as she fanned out and draped the table cloths onto their surfaces. She made her way to every table as the girls fixed the speakers and made improvements to the overall sound.

Once she was finished, Crona sat at a table. She rested her chin in her hand, watching Maka taste test tiny samples of cakes as different workers surrounded her while she tried to walk.

"Hey"

Crona looked to her right in excitement, which immediatley faded to disapointment. A boy with dark brown hair stood a few feet from her. He wore the causal clothes with the logos on his shirt that showed he was a member of one of the crew. He had several tall stacks of chairs next to him that he must have been wheeling in and setting up.

"Uh, hi" Crona reasponded, not wanting to be rude but not wanting to respond either. She tried to go back to looking at where her friends were.

"So are you like, a bridesmaid or something?" the boy asked, probing for answers. He was a little older and had a strong build that he must have obtained due to his work.

"No, well yeah I guess" Crona answered nervously. She wondered if it would be offensive if she just got up and walked away.

"Nice, well if you need a date I'm single" he added confidently. Crona blushed. Not in her normal level of embarassment, but in a way that she did not like his tone. She tried to follow Liz's advice. '_This is probably flirting or something' _she thought to herself.

"Haha, thats okay" she said, giving a tiny laugh to be polite while trying to turn him away. He didn't take a hint.

"I'm just playing" he said moving closer to her table and resting his hands on the chair next to her as she felt him look at her a little longer than she would like. She shifted in the opposite direction of where he was standing. Crona did not reaspond to his statement. He rested all of his weight on his arms as he leaned slightly toward her more. She did not like his looming presence standing over her.

"Listen, I know how weddings are. We move tables and stuff for them all the time. I know bridesmaids tend to get a little..._gone _after a few drinks" he smirked. Crona furrowed her brow.

"Gone?" she managed to ask, scared of what he meant.

"Yeah, you know toss a few back and get kinda tipsy" he explained "how old are you anyway?"

"I uh- think I need to go help my friend..." Crona said, begining to stand up.

"Come one, you're seriously going to blow me off? I'm trying to be nice. I can be a real nice guy ya know" he asked, irritated.

"I think you have some other tables and chairs to bring in off the truck, don't you?" a voice behind him asked. The brown haired boy spun around to reveal an irritated looking Kid. Crona felt relieved.

"I'm on break here buddy" he retorted, trying to turn back to Crona.

"Well don't worry because you won't have a job to come back to..._b__uddy"_ Kid retorted, using his foot to pull the chair the boys hands were resting on out from under him, causing him to stumble forward. Kid swiftly brought his arm back then swung forward right into the boys gut, knocking the window out of him. Crona stood wide eyed.

"Kid, what's going on over there?" Liz shouted, noticing the change in her miesters wavelength.

"Nothing Liz, this young man here was just being careless and dropped a stack of chairs on his foot" Kid reported as the boy doubled over in pain. He reached his hand over to Crona, leading her toward. As they crossed the room, she noticed he still held her hand.

"Never let someone speak to you like that" Kid whispered as they crossed the room. Crona exhaled.

"I didn't know what I was supposed to do, I didn't want to make him mad" she tried to justify, as they zig zagged through the tables. Kid gave her a stern look.

"Never worry about pleasing people like that" he instructed "you can stay by Liz and Patty while I go speak to the man who runs that company and see if he knows just what kind of people he is employing"

He gently released her hand as they neared the large DJ booth where the sisters sat. Neither of the sisters even noticed that their hands had been locked.

"Hey Crona, check out this sick beat" Patty demanded, having a large set of headphones dangle from her neck as loud bass and drum sounds began to play. Crona saw the DJ sit angrily at a nearby table. It was all just mindless noise.

"He let you use his stuff?" Crona asked.

"Eh, more like he didn't have a choice. Kid hired him and is paying extra to have things done the way he wants them" Liz shrugged "Even if we break something, what is this guy going to do? His client is Lord Death's kid"

Crona nodded, watching Kid exit the room.

"What's with him?" Patty asked, pulling at the headphones and causing the DJ more anxiety over the equipment.

"I don't know I think that guy did something to piss him off" Liz speculated. Crona offered no explaination. The three of them played around in the DJ booth until the sisters grew hungry and decided to make their way to the kitchen.

"Hey Maka, whatcha got to eat?" Patty asked, poking around the large industrial kitchen. Her eyes finally landed on a platter of dozens of sample sized cake pieces. Maka saw her gaze.

"You can try those, just make sure you tell me which one is best. I couldn't eat more than five and thats not even all of them"

Patty eagerly agreed and began popping the bite sized desserts into her mouth as she picked up the metal tray to take with her. The three of them sat back at a table as Liz propped her feet up on a chair with a clipboard in her hand, marking down which cake flavors they agreed gave higher ratings.

"Patty, seriously just pick one. You're going to get sick from eating all this cake" Liz said, rolling her eyes. Patty had given every piece a five star rating.

"No I'm not. It's not my fault they're all soooo good"

"Really? Maka wanted someone to pick the best flavor and she didn't even think to ask the best person here? Guess her cake will just be as lame as she is" Black Star shot, making his way over and sitting next to Patty. She tried to defend the tray from him but was unsuccessful. Tsubaki quietly suggested Black Star calm down, which did nothing.

"You know what food is dumb anyway, I heard you guys trying to play your crappy music. Nobody even got up to dance. That really shows what kind of skills you guys have" he said, taunting the sisters.

"Hey! Our music is awesome. People can't dance when they're actually doing work" Liz argued.

"Well no one is working now" he said, holding his arms up at the empty room "and not a single person looks like they're having any fun"

"Black Star, this is set up. It's not supposed to be fun" Tsubaki explained. It was too late, Black Star and Patty ran back to the DJ area to fight over who could play a better song. Black Star beat her up there and fired up a techno track. Patty shook her head and covered her ears as he cranked the volume. Black Star bobbed his head, enjoying the music even everyone else seemed to ignore it.

After the song ended, Liz let out a loud 'boo' as she, Crona and Tsubaki stood down on the dance floor trying to set up the lights.

"See? No one even sang along!" Patty argued, clicking the keys on the laptop to play an upbeat pop ballad. Crona never cared for any kind of music, but it was fun to see them argue over something that seemed pointless to Crona.

Black Star began to frown as he watch Tsubaki begin to tap her foot as she worked and Liz sang along. Several other workers jokingly mouthed the words to each other or began to sway to the music.

It suddenly occured to Crona that she had never danced. She had never cared for music and watching most of the people even slightly bob their heads made it blatently apparent that she didn't even know how to enjoy it. Black Star and Patty quickly made a playlist together and ran out to mess around on the dance floor as Tsubaki and Liz secured more strobe lights.

Crona knew dancing wasn't supposed to be something specifically planned out. Even watching Black Star, whose dance moves just looked like his assasains flips and kicks, he looked like he was confident in the way he danced. It was weird that Patty, who shook her hips and waved her arms, looked like she knew exactly how to dance. Maka had tried to explain the concept of 'fake it 'till you make it' to Crona, but she couldn't understand how people can just pretend they know what to do. But the phrase seemed to make sense when applied to dancing.

Once all the light fixtures were hung, all of her friends were on the dance floor showcasing their moves. Crona backed away to a table just off the dance floor. She thought it was fascinating that just like soul wavelengths, all of her friends seemed to have their own dance wavelength that matched them. No matter what type of song, Black Star had a strong and forceful moves. Tsubaki was calm and careful as she lightly spun and moved her arms. Patty and Liz had fun and paired up, continuously laughing.

Why was dancing considered normal?

Moving your body randomly in motion to music seemed like something most people wouldn't want to do. Yet, there her friends were.

Soul finally entered the room as it began to clear of the the extra workers as they finished their set ups. He stood next to Crona, watching his friends make fools of themselves.

"What the hell is going on here?" he asked, chuckling. Patty spotted him and immediately pulled him to stand with them. Even though dancing was uncool, Crona could still see tiny movements that he couldn't fight. His head bobbed in beat as he watched Black Star attempt to break dance.

After the last of the caterers cleared out, Maka finally emerged from the back to join her friends.

"C'mon Crona" she offered, knowing her friend wouldn't accept. She made her way around the tables and lightly tapped Soul's shoulder as the music shifted to a slower beat. Crona saw Black Stars disgust as a slow song came on.

Maka softly pulled Soul's hand as he gave in and wrapped it around her. The two held each other, moving back and forth. As Soul looked down at her, his white hair dangled between their foreheads. A small grin crept across his face as he leaned in for a small kiss that only they and Crona noticed.

"Why aren't you dancing?" Kid asked, pulling out a chair beside her.

"I don't care for dancing. I don't really know how" she said with her eyes still on her friends. He could tell by her almost trance-like look that she yearned to join them.

"No one really knows how" Kid commented, resting his arm on the newly decorated table.

"I know, but...they just know. Instinctively" she explained "they don't worry how they look or question it, I would just look..."Crona trailed off.

"You don't think they look a little funny?" Kid asked, motioning to Black Star who was now on the ground trying to out dance Liz and Patty. Crona shrugged. She didn't really want to be convinced to dance. Maybe at the reception she would, but even among her friends she didn't feel a strong compelling urge.

"It's fine, I'm not big on dancing myself. Liz and Patty can never follow a simple rhythm" he said, giving a small smile. He stood up anyway, quietly offering his hand again. It stayed motionless in front of Crona as she looked up at her reaper friend.

"I thought you didn't want to?" Crona asked, folding her hands tightly onto her lap.

"There are a lot of things I don't want to do that these people make me" he said simply. Realizing he wasn't going to pull his hand away, she placed her hand in his and stood up. They took the few steps to the dance floor to join their 6 friends. Maka quickly looked at their hand placement, which had dropped naturally before she had a chance to see.

"We gunna drop it low, Crona?" Patty asked laughing and trying to squat down to the ground while wiggling. Crona blushed, even with none of her friends watching she felt ridged as she stood with her wrists crossed in front of her.

"Wanna learn some quick stuff before the reception gets here?" Liz asked, noticing that Crona looked uncomfortable. Crona nodded. Knowing basics was better than standing motionless on the dance floor. Liz explained that many of the large group dance songs were made up of simple moves. Some of the songs even said the directions in them. The song changed back to a quick beat, making it easy to show Crona how to lightly dance.

"So basically, if you're a girl you don't even need to know how to dance. See how the boys kind of lean or bob?" she asked pointing at Soul, who was trying to talk to Kid while Maka swayed around him. Crona nodded.

"Well girls just do that, but you can also bend your elbows a bit" she said, showing Crona. Her stance went from a normal standing posture to dancing almost immediately "it also helps to stop people from bumping into you".

Crona felt unnatural still as her hips didn't look as feminine as her friends because she didn't know how to move them. She worried she looked stupid. Liz frowned slightly as she noticed Crona's frustration. Liz held her cowgirl hat as she quickly ran up to change the music. The beat totally changed but was still...enjoyable.

"Okay so this is a group thing, just follow everyone else and the lyrics" Liz instructed. The bass sounded like a heartbeat as the deep lyrics began to tell everyone to clap. Crona noticed that her friends must have known the song because they all formed into two lines all facing the same way as they began to clap in beat. Tsubaki began to giggle as the lyrics commanded _"to the right now"_ which caused all of her friends to move along. The soothing voice sang in tempo as it ordered them left and then to hop several times. Black Star began to grow frustrated every time he confused the left and right directions and bumped into his friends. By the third chorus, Crona actually felt like she knew what she was doing.

She snuck glances at Kid when the lyrics shouted _"Freeze! Everybody clap yo hands!"_ which she joined in. They quickly made their way through the whole song. Even Soul finished. Crona tried to her her big smile as she felt like she could dance and have a good time just like everyone else. Liz went back up to look for more music when she looked at the clock with shock.

"Patty! We gotta go, our show is on in 15 minutes!" she said with such urgency that Crona really wondered if they could feel so strongly about a TV program. Liz and Patty quickly grabbed their belongings and said goodbye.

"Yeah, I have a training schedule to stick to. Unlike you guys, I don't count dancing as actual exercise" he said in a snotty tone. Tsubaki rolled her eyes as Liz scoffed at him.

"Yeah, it is getting kind of late. We should probably get home. A wedding doesn't excuse my grades if they start slipping" Maka agreed. Crona nodded, beginning to walk with Maka and Soul.

"I could give Crona a ride home" Kid offered. Black Star, Tsubaki, Liz, and Patty had already gone ahead and left. Maka looked at Soul then at Crona.

"I guess thats up to you Crona" Maka said, trying not to parent her. Crona blankly stared at Maka. She wasn't sure if she should say what she wanted or just take the easy way home.

"I just have a lock up a few things here, then we'll be on our way as well" Kid assured. Maka nodded, normally she wouldn't give a second though, but the circumstances had changed sightly.

"Th-at would be okay, I'll be home in a little while" Crona finally spoke up.

"Okay then, we'll see you at home" Soul interjected, growing tired of neither of them speaking up. He guided Maka by her shoulders toward the door, she gave a last look over her shoulder before Soul basically shoved her out the door with him.

The large room gave an echo as the door closed in the other room. The music had stopped and all the workers were gone. The quiet was music to Crona's ears. Kid walked back to the kitchen to secure and lock the back door. With him being the client renting, he held the keys to all the rooms. Crona followed him quietly as he checked to make sure all the appliances were turned off and that certain security lights were left on.

"He did get fired just so you know" Kid informed out of the blue, as he reached his arm to flip a switch. Crona remembered the boy.

"...thank you" she offered. Kid turned to look at her.

"You don't have to thank me. Nobody should be speaking to you like that. Anyone would have defended you" he stated. Her heart sank. Maybe she overreacted, thinking it was some grand gesture, Prince to her rescue move.

"But if you wouldn't have been there...no one would have" Crona protested "Nobody was around. Nobody heard what he was..." she said raising her hand, motioning to where she had been sitting as her sentence faded away. Kid gave a stern look.

"Tell me if I'm overstepping, but do you remember when we first met?" Kid asked. Crona's eyes looked to the left as she tried to search her brain for the exact day. It was hard for her to recall much of her old life, she had tried to hard to repress all the horrible things she had done before Maka showed her kindness.

"It was on the ship. The ghost ship?" Kid reminded "the first thing you said to me was that you were scared"

Crona frowned, looking away as she followed him to the next door he had to lock.

"You were scared of dealing with people and thought power was the answer" Kid elaborated, checking that the last door was locked.

"I know now that I was wrong" Crona said, a small plead in her voice as if she still craved forgiveness.

"Yes, I am not blaming you. I just..." he paused stared at her with his serious golden eyes "I just never want you to fear again". She looked back at him, matching his gaze with her lavender eyes, she shook her head.

"Everyone is scared of something" she said quietly.

Many of the lights were off as the two stood in the doorway of the kitchen and the room the reception would be held in. The large room was completely quiet except for their breathing. Crona worried that the sound of her heart pounding would also be audible. Kid looked like he wanted to say something but remained quiet, she began to look away, when his hand slowly wrapped around her's. She looked back at him, his cool hand felt amazing against her warm fingers. He carefully brought his hand up to her chin, slowly as if he was making sure she didn't want to protest.

She found herself leaning in and their lips met. He moved his hand from her chin to clasp her neck softly to deepen the kiss. Everything melted away. For a moment she wasn't a demon sword. He wasn't a shinigami. Everything that made her fear in life faded away as she could only focus on him. His lips parted hers, but she pulled him back. His lips felt like they belonged against hers as they moved against each other. His cupped her face in his hands, looking in to her eyes.

Crona wrapped her arms around him and pulled their bodies against each other. She felt whole as he held her. The only thing she feared is that the moment would end with another day of uncertainty.

* * *

**Sorry this took forever! I know the last bit seemed a bit rushed. Thank you all for reading!**


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